Trapped
by wwefaneam41
Summary: Elizabeth Lloyd is an amazing diva, her brother Paul Lloyd Jr is her best friend. And she has been dating Heath Miller, the love of her life. But things get complicated a little before she is forced to join The Corre. I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT ELIZABETH.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Elizabeth Lloyd sits on the edge of the bench in the locker room. Preparing herself for her upcoming match against Rosa and the conversation with Wade afterwards, but she can't focus. She hasn't been herself lately, she's tried, but she doesn't know if she can be herself anymore.

She thinks about her brother, PJ, he is her best friend. When they first came here from Cape Town, they only had each other. And even though he'd never admit it, he promised their parents to always look after her. _What a great job he's done at that_, she thought. _No, it's not his fault. None of this is PJ's fault._ And she knew that, deep down she truly believed that.

She thinks about Heath, the love of her life. She hated being in this stupid storyline with Stu, though. At first it hadn't been so bad, besides the fact that her and Heath weren't suppose to be seen together on any kind of romantic outing. She didn't mind Stu at first. She'd known him long before she knew Heath, and PJ had been good friends with Stu before they left Cape Town.

Almost as if on cue, the door to the locker room is thrown open and in walks Stu. Immediately Elizabeth stands up, trying to find somewhere to hide, hoping he doesn't see her. He walks in alone and he knows she's there. If he had given her any type of warning she'd been able to hide, but he didn't, he never did.

"Can I talk to Eliza please? Elizabeth has been such a bore lately," he said to her, "And I think Eliza likes Stu better than Elizabeth does, well at least she likes Wade better."

"Stu, stop it," Elizabeth begins, but is cut off by Stu pushing her into the lockers. She knows what is coming next and tries her hardest to get away from him.

"Now, what have we talked about? You don't tell me to stop. I stop when I want to," he laughed at her. He was much larger than her, and much stronger. "How about we talk about your match? Have you been working out by yourself? Because you definitely haven't been working out with us."

She wasn't part of The Corre. And she didn't want to be. Their storyline was cruel and she didn't want to be a part of it. That was about to change though. As of right now, PJ held her contract, he was her manager.

"Yes, Stu. I've been working out. I don't always have to be connected to your hip. Other than in the ring, we aren't in a relationship," she responded, "And this, whatever this is, needs to stop now. Because if it doesn't then I'll tell Heath and PJ, I'll tell them everything. You'll lose them both, and you'll lose Rycklon too."

As she said this, he threw her into the lockers even harder. She knew better than to threaten him. She knew he'd always have the upper hand. He'd told her before that if she tried to tell, they wouldn't believe her. He was very careful when it came to this kind of thing and it made her wonder how many other girls he's done this to. Her head ached as she tried to push him off; he was just too strong for her.

Just then they heard Heath laughing and knew that the others were heading into the locker room.

"Go to the bathroom and get ready for your match. Stop crying, that isn't going to help you," he whispered in her ear. She ran to the bathroom where her bags were. Splashing water on her face, she tried to compose herself. Rummaging through her bag she found her favorite ring attire, white pants with blue strips done each leg and a blue bikini type top. She put them on and fixed her make-up.

When she came out of the bathroom, the guys were talking about their storyline with Big Show and Kane. Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth walks into Heaths waiting arms.

"There's my girl," he says in his thick southern accent, "I've been wondering how much longer you were going to be in there." Then he kisses her passionately, making her forget about her encounter with Stu.

"Okay, okay, okay. That is quite enough," PJ exclaims, feigning disgust, "Seriously, Heath. That's my sister, get your hands off her."  
>Elizabeth blushes while Heath laughs. She has always been more modest than most of the divas, but something about Heath makes her not care about modesty. As she watches him laugh, she sees all of the reasons she fell in love with him in the first place. He is one of the most caring guys she knows. When PJ and Elizabeth first moved to Florida, he was the guy FCW sent to meet them at the airport. He showed them around, showed them their apartment, showed them where the arena was, where the best restaurants were, and then took them to his apartment to make them dinner. After that, they just clicked, all three of them.<p>

At first, they hid their relationship from PJ. He had always been very protective of his baby sister, and she wasn't sure he would approve that his best friend was dating her. Eventually, she slipped up and told him. He didn't react the way she had expected and then she regretted not telling him sooner. He was happy for them and he told them that.

"Are you ready for your match Elizabeth?" her brother asked, bringing her out of her thoughts, "You seem kind of dazed right now."  
>"Oh, PJ, stop being so protective," Stu answered for her, "Of course she's ready. Isn't that right, Eliza?" he added putting an emphasis on her stage name knowing it would make her cringe.<p>

"PJ, don't worry about my match. I've got in all under control," she replied confidently. It was true; she was stronger than most divas in the diva locker room. Her strength was what attracted Heath to her from the very beginning. He saw it as soon as he watched the brother sister duo walk down the escalator to the baggage claim.

"I just don't want you to hurt yourself out there," PJ answered, "If your heart isn't in it then your mind will lead you astray."

He was quoting their father, and she knew he was right. From an early age, their parents had taught them that if they were going into something then they needed to do it with all of their hearts. It was why they were so successful in this business.

"P, I've got this. You can stop quoting dad to me. I'll see you afterwards," she said.

As she walked out of the locker room Stu called to her, "Eliza, I'll see you out there." She did all she could to hold in the shiver she could feel coming on. As soon as the door shut she let it out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

She celebrated as her song, Girl Like That by Every Avenue, came on. The ref held her hand up in victory and she danced around the ring. It didn't last long though, her music was interrupted and everyone looked at toward the Superstar entrance confused. Then it came "I'll be your end of days" and Stu walks out alone.

"Congratulations, love," he says as he gets into the ring and gives Elizabeth a kiss.

"Thanks Wade," she replies breathing heavy, and giving him a one-armed hug.

"Now, I have a proposition for you. As you all may know," he begins, pointing to the arena full of fans, "Eliza Gabriel is the younger, and much better looking, sister of Justin Gabriel. Justin, will you join me in the arena?"

As PJ walks out, Stu starts again, "Now, Eliza, currently your brother is in control of your contract. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Wade. You know that he's my manager. Can you skip all the introductions and just get to the proposition?" she said making fun of him, and then she realizes she'll pay for it later when he turns and glares at her.

PJ is in the ring now, standing protectively by his sister's side. "Okay, okay. We are a little impatient tonight aren't we, Eliza? Here is what I want- and I'm sure that Justin will see things my way- I want you, Eliza, to join The Corre. You would be a great asset to us," he states, as if this isn't completely absurd.

Elizabeth looks at PJ with a hurt look on her face, "Justin, is this for real? No, I will not join The Corre. Wade that is the most insane thing I have ever heard you say. If you think – "

"Now, if you refuse to join us," Stu interrupts, "Justin will release you of your contract. Which means you will be fired from the WWE."

PJ looks at Stu, then at Elizabeth. Suddenly he moves from her side and over to Stu. Telling Elizabeth that what Stu is saying is true. She stares at PJ, trying to make him look her in the eyes, but he wont.

"Justin, how could you do this to me? We are family, why would you chose them over me?" she cried.

"Eliza, you have two options. Join me in The Corre, or be fired. Make the choice," PJ replied.

"Can I think about it? And tell you my answer next week?" she asked.

"No, you answer us tonight. By the end of Smackdown or you are fired," replied Stu.

The Corre music blared as PJ and Stu walked out of the arena, leaving Elizabeth there in complete shock. She stormed out of the arena and into the locker room. "PJ, what the hell is going on?" she exclaimed, "Vince didn't tell me that this was part of the storyline."

"He told me and Stu about it just before we interrupted your celebration. Great match, by the way," PJ answered.

"No, don't try to change the subject. This isn't fair. I've told you from the beginning of Nexus that I didn't want to be a part of that. And now you just let it happen? Why didn't you speak for me when Vince told you? I'm going to talk to him. This is ridiculous," she responded.

Walking out of the locker room, she was on fire. She marched to Vince's office and knocked on the door, hard.

"Come on in," she heard, "Ah Elizabeth Lloyd, I figured I'd be seeing you right about now. You will be joining The Corre tonight," he said when he saw her.

"Vince, come on. You know how I feel about their storyline," she responded. She had more to say but she couldn't think straight.

"Elizabeth, think about it. You are practically part of them already. With PJ as your brother, Stu as your on camera boyfriend, and you're still dating Heath, right? Well any way, those things don't matter. We need to add a female to The Corre, it will give them a better vibe with the fans," he told her.

Elizabeth knew that there was no arguing with Vince McMahon. He was the owner, what he says goes. As she walked out of his office, she felt her stomach sink. The Corre traveled together and stayed in the hotels in their own suite together. Every once in a while she would stay with them, usually in PJ's room and traveling with Heath was actually really fun. But now she would be required to be there, with them, all the time.

She went back to The Corre locker room and began to punch all of the lockers. The guys were all out in the ring for PJ and Heaths match against Santino and Kozlov. Elizabeth knew that when they won she would have to go to the ring and accept the offer.

Heading to the ring, a knot appeared in her stomach. She nodded to the sound guys that she was ready whenever they were, and she interrupted their victory celebration as Stu had to her. Walking to the ring with her head held high, she prepared herself to join The Corre.

Grabbing a microphone, she looked all of them in the eyes except for Wade, "Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, Wade Barrett, and Justin Gabriel," she started trying to keep her voice from shaking, "You want me to join The Corre?"

In all their cockiness, they chuckled, nodded, and prodded each other. Wade yanked the microphone out of her hand, "Eliza, you know what we want. Now why don't you skip the introductions and get to your answer. And I trust you will make the right choice."

"Fine," she says, "I will join your group, but not because of my brother. I will join because my relationship with you, Wade, is more important than my issues with what you all do."

As she said this, she walked up to Wade and gave him a quick kiss. He picked her up and twirled her around, lengthening their kiss. Then exclaimed, " I knew you would make the right choice!"

They all walked out of the arena together, Elizabeth and Stu had their arms around each other. But as soon as she knew the fans couldn't see them she dropped her arm and pushed him away from her. Walking into the locker room, Heath realized, "Yes! This means you will be in our suite all the time now. I call rooming with Elizabeth!"

"Uh, I don't think so Heath. That's my baby sister. You are not coming near her on a bed with a 10 foot pole," replied PJ.

"Good thing I'm longer than 10 feet then," Heath teased while the other guys laughed and Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him.

"Seriously, PJ? I'm not a baby anymore. And you are not allowed to say who I room with," Elizabeth said plainly.

"Well it doesn't matter anyway, because tonight is family movie night. Remember?" PJ reminded Elizabeth. Family movie night was something they did every Tuesday night since they left Cape Town. It was their way to spend time together with their busy schedules.

"How could I forget, PJ? You've only been going on about what movie we were going to watch since last Tuesday," Elizabeth teased, "Just let me get changed and get my stuff packed. I'll ride back to the hotel with you and we can stop at the video store on the way."

"Sound good to me," PJ replied.

She took her time changing because she noticed some slight bruising on her hip form where Stu held her against the wall earlier. She couldn't believe that the guys didn't notice, but she was glad. She changed into a pair of jeans, t-shirt, and her favorite zip-up. When she walked back into the locker room, Stu was the only one there. She thought about turning around, but didn't have enough time.

"I told them I'd take you back to the hotel. They wanted to leave and you were taking too long," Stu said, as if reading her mind.

He walked towards her slowly as if daring her to run, but she felt paralyzed. Her legs weren't listening to her brain as it shouted for them to run, this happened every time Stu walked towards her with that smirk on his face. He closed the door behind her and locked it. When she heard the tick of the lock, Elizabeth knew she was stuck. Looking around, she searched for some kind of weapon but couldn't find one.

"It seems to be just you and me. I wonder what kind of nonsense we could get into," he laughed. He grabbed her by the arm and turned her around to face him. It took her off guard and gave him the opening to kiss her without her fighting back. He kissed her hard, shoving his tongue in her mouth forcing her lips apart. His hands wrapped up in her hair, making it impossible to break apart the kiss.

Elizabeth pushed at him as hard as she could, using all of her force, without any luck. When he finally broke the kiss she had tears in her eyes. She knew what was coming next, what always came next. But this time it was different, he let her go. He never let her go before, and she took advantage of it. Little did she know, that was exactly what he wanted.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

She took a few steps backwards to gain some distance from him. And as she did she asked, "Can we get going now, please? I think they'll start to wonder what is taking so long."

He smirked at her and crossed the distance she made. The only thing she could think of doing was back up more, but he was taller and caught her before she could get too far away from him.

"Do you really think this is over?" Stu said, "How could you be so stupid, Elizabeth? We don't leave until I say we are ready. Got it?"

She tried to nod, but he threw her into the wall making her hit her head. Before she knew it he was taking her shirts off and unbuttoning her jeans. She tried to push him away, but he towered over her making it impossible. He took jeans all the way off and slipped her panties down her legs slowly.

"Take my pants off, now," he snapped in her ear.

She shook her head at him but he slapped her across the face. She knew that telling Stu no would only make him hurt her more. She reached down and began unbuttoning his pants and unzipping them.

"If you don't hurry up," he warned, "this will not end well for you."

She fumbled with his pants a little while longer before finally getting them off. As soon as they were off Stu shoved her against the wall and lifted her up, settling himself in between her legs. No matter how much she kicked and scratched and hit him, he never stopped. He shoved inside her making her cry out in pain, which only turned him on more and more.

"Stu, please stop," she begged, "Please."

He just laughed at her. The more she hit him the harder he slammed into her, bringing tears to her eyes. She tried so hard to keep them from pouring over but with every push they fell. It turned him on when she cried. He knew that he was in control of her; he'd always be in control of her. His thrusts got faster and harder as he got closer to his climax, hurting her more and more. He loved it rough, and this was the best he'd ever had with Elizabeth. He breathed heavily on her neck when he came inside of her, making her shiver in disgust.

"Now that was fun, love. We should have sex in the locker room more often," Stu smirked at her, "Now get yourself cleaned up so we can get to the hotel. If you hurry we can probably beat them back still. They are no doubt arguing over which movie you'd like best."

The ride back to the hotel was awkward for Elizabeth. She knew that couldn't have fought Stu off but she felt that she had just cheated on Heath- as she always did after Stu had his way with her- and she knew that she could never get control of her life as long as Stu was around. To make matters worse, he kept trying to put his hands up her shirt the whole way to the hotel.

Once in the hotel, Elizabeth checked to see which room PJ had put her stuff in. She told him he was going to take a quick shower and that she'd be to his room in 15 minutes. As she always did after Stu had his way with her, she scrubbed every inch of her body trying to get rid of him. She cried silently as she saw the bruises start to form and knew that she would have to put make up on before going to PJ's room.

Before she left her room, she called Heath.

"Hey babe, I'm heading over to PJ's right now. If I don't fall asleep can I spend the night with you?" she asked, not wanting to be alone.

"Of course you can. Text me when you are on your way. I love you baby, and make sure you don't fall asleep," he said.

"I love you too, Heath. I'll try my best to not fall asleep." And with that she went to see her brother.

"Now Heath and I couldn't decide what movie to get so we ended up renting 3," PJ said when he answered the door, "I know your favorite is Speak, but we couldn't find it. Heath thought about getting one of those vampire movies, but we've seen them about a million times. So I found Save The Last Dance, Heath found Juno, and we both found Hannibal. Now it is all up to you but I was thinking-"

"Nope, I definitely vote for Save The Last Dance. And if there is any time left, then Hannibal," she interrupted.

"I was hoping you'd say that," PJ replied and they both laughed.

When the first movie was over, Elizabeth looked over to see PJ fast asleep on the bed next to her. She smiled to herself as she watched her older brother sleep, wishing she could tell him what had happened. Sighing, she got out of the bed and covered him with the blankets. She turned out the lights and muted the TV, ever since they were little, PJ and Elizabeth both needed to sleep with some sort of light on. She headed out of his hotel room and texted Heath to let him know she was on her way to his room, which was two floors down.

In the elevator, she leaned against the wall, trying to talk herself into telling Heath what happened. But she reconsidered; she was convinced that he would think it was her fault. She didn't think she could stand to lose him after all of this. When the doors to the elevator opened she walked out and turned left, but was knocked down by someone running down the hallway.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," she heard but didn't get the chance to look up in time to see who it was.

When she got to Heath's room he was waiting for her with his door wide open. Giving her a huge bear hug, he picked her up and carried her over to his bed. He softly kissed her lips as he sat her down on her feet. He took a step back to get a better look at her.

_Damn,_ he thought, _I cannot believe how lucky I am to have such an amazing girl.  
><em> "Is that a bruise on your cheek, Liz?" he asked, pointing to her face, "Where did that come from?"

She had to think quickly, "Um, some guy ran into me when I got off the elevator. It must have happened then."

It was such a simple lie. Something she'd been good at her whole life. There were only two people in her life that saw through her lies, and one of them was standing in front of her. She would tell by the look in Heath's eyes that he didn't believe her, but he didn't push it. He just wanted to hold her and protect her. He grabbed her by the arms lightly and jumped side ways on the bed, pulling her down with him. She giggled loudly as they landed on their sides.

When they finally settled down from their tickle fest, Heath pulled her gently against his side, molding her body to his. It was something that always calmed her down when she was having a bad dream or when she was really nervous. He didn't know what exactly made him think she needed that right this moment, but could tell that she was glad he did it. She laid her head in the crook of his arm and rolled on her side to put her arm on his muscular chest. He always slept without a shirt and she loved the feel of her hands on his skin.

"I love you," she cooed quietly, feeling the weight of a peaceful sleep in her lover's arms taking hold of her.

"I love you more beautiful," he replied. And with that they fell asleep in each other's arms, neither willing to let go.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

They woke up in the morning to the sound of someone banging on Heath's hotel room door. He got up, put on a shirt, and opened the door.

"I'm guessing that Elizabeth is here," she heard Stu announce, "Since she is now officially a part of The Corre, I expect her down at the gym with the rest of us. If she is late, she'll have to report to me."

"Well, I'll be sure to tell her that. But you could have just texted one of us, it would have been a lot nicer wake up call than you trying to knock down the door," Heath teased as Stu walked away.

He shook his head as he closed the door before jumping on the bed being careful not to crush Elizabeth underneath him. He started kissing her eyes and when his lips found hers, he could feel her smiling into his mouth. That was his favorite part of kissing his beautiful girlfriend, her ability to kiss and smile at the same time. It was a major turn on for him. His hands started wondering around her body, grabbing softly around her hips and she cried out in pain slightly. As soon as he heard her cry he jumped, he was always very conscious about holding her because she seemed so breakable to him.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked in a concerned voice.

"Oh, nothing. When that kid ran into me last night it knocked me into the wall before I fell down. I must have ran into the wall hip first, or something," she replied.

"Well, alright. We'd better get ready. You heard the tyrant. Are you hungry or anything?" Heath asked.

"I'm not hungry right now. I think I'll just eat when we get back from the gym. I don't want to throw up from Master Stu working me too hard," Elizabeth said, it felt good to make fun of him- she just had to make sure he wasn't around when she did or he'd make her pay for it.

"Alright, I guess. I just don't want you to pass out or anything."

Heath had a way of being just as protective as PJ. When Elizabeth was younger, she had an eating disorder. It resulted in some time in the hospital, and ever since then PJ has basically forced her to eat whenever he could. Sadly he passed this information onto Heath, who took it upon himself to make Elizabeth eat as well. Neither man knew that with all of the stuff Stu was doing, she had fallen into her old patterns when they weren't looking. She wasn't being unhealthy about it, she still ate, she just ate less.

"Heath, you worry too much," she said, trying to convince him that she was fine, "I'll eat when we get done at the gym. I'm sure that will be PJ's first question when we get there anyway."

Elizabeth went back to her room to change into her workout clothes, Heath had offered a t-shirt and shorts to her, but that would require changing in front of him. With the bruises that she could now feel, she declined saying that she wanted to grab her i-pod anyway. Usually, she wore shorts and a sports bra, but considering the deep blue marks on her hips, she threw a black tank top over her sports bra.

Meeting the guys in the lobby, they walked out to PJ's SUV. He always insisted on using his own car instead of renting when the traveled from city to city because he was most comfortable with that and Elizabeth had to agree. It would have been a snug fit for them all in Stu's little car.

"I think I'm going to take Elizabeth with me in my car," announced Stu sternly, "I figure we can go over the work out and grab breakfast after wards.

"Stu, why don't we all just ride together?" PJ replied, "We can all go over the work out and I'm sure we'll all be starving after gym time. We'll save gas that way too."

He couldn't argue without look suspicious, which made Elizabeth breathe a sigh of relief. She didn't want to spend any alone time with Stu, she knew what would happen if they did.

As they climbed into PJ's escalade, Elizabeth slide into the backseat between Heath and Rycklon. Knowing she was safe, she put her headphones in her ears and turned on her i-pod. It was her routine, she needed music.

"Elizabeth. Elizabeth? ELIZABETH!" Stu screamed at her.

She jumped when she heard him scream, and not because she was afraid of the noise, it was the look in his eyes when she hadn't answered him.

"Jeez, Stu. She is listening to music," PJ spoke for her.

"It's fine, P. What do you need, Stu?" Elizabeth asked as Stu handed her new workout to her.

"This is what you'll be doing today. Start out slow and low on everything, then build up," he said.

He was talking to her like she'd never been in a gym before and that irritated her. She'd grown up around the gym. She'd been wrestling for just as long as PJ, and Stu knew that.

"Oh, and as a rule, we don't listen to our i-pods while we work out. We listen to each other, we use each other, we help each other," he scolded.

"Wait, what? I can't listen to my i-pod? That is ridiculous. Stu, I can't do this workout with out my i-pod. It isn't going to happen. You know that music pumps me up. When did you establish this rule? Because I'm pretty sure that the last time I worked out with you guys, you were definitely list-"

"I don't care what pumps you up. No i-pods. That's final," he said interrupting her.

She knew that there was no point in arguing back, and the glare he gave her made her realize that she shouldn't have argued in the first place. Moments like this made her truly believe that the things Stu did to her were her own fault. She knew the things that would set him off and she still did them. She tried to crawl into her skin as much as she could, but Heath took it as her wanting him to hold her and he put his arm around her shoulders.

When they arrived at the gym, the guys split up heading to their spots in the gym. Elizabeth looked at the sheet of paper with her workout and sighed. _This is ridiculous, _she thought, _I could do this workout in my sleep. I'm definitely altering it to match my ability. _She marched off to the treadmill and started running. When she realized that she as in a corner out of Stu's sight, she put her i-pod in and blared her play list full of adrenaline pumping songs.

She'd been running for quite some time when someone stopped the treadmill causing her to fall. She pulled out her headphones and glared up into Stu's dark eyes.

"Did I not make it clear that we don't listen to i-pods here?" he growled.

She staggered to her feet and looked for the other guys, seeing both her brother and boyfriend with their headphones in.

"What are you talking about? Heath and Paul are listening to theirs. You cannot put restrictions on me and not on them," she responded breathlessly.

"I can put any restriction on you that I want. I also realized that you have been on this treadmill longer that your workout says too. I put those workouts together, you will do it right," he told her.

"Stu, that workout was for a baby. I've been doing my own workouts since I left Cape Town, and I know my own strength. I'm not going to step back from my routine. If you don't agree with me, then I'll have PJ take a look at it. He's been by my side this whole time. He'll tell you what I can and cannot do," she said angrily, and with that she stomped off towards her older brother.

"You will not interrupt his workout," Stu replied grabbing her by the arm tightly, "We can discuss this over breakfast. For know, do the workout I laid out for you."

"Fine, I'll do your workout. But I am going to listen to my music. You cannot take that away from me." And with that, she walked towards her next station.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Stu was pissed at her. She could just tell by the way he was working out. Pushing him from her mind, she finished up her own baby workout and headed towards the weights where Heath and PJ were currently finishing their last set. She was upset, and they could tell immediately.

"Hey, how did your workout go?" her brother asked as she sulked up to them.

"It sucked," she responded, "Look at this. I could do this in my sleep. And when I started doing something else he came over and yelled at me. Told me that I couldn't talk to you about it until breakfast."

The guys took a look at the piece of paper she was holding onto and laughed. They knew that Elizabeth could handle a tougher workout than what Stu had given her. They figured that he was just trying to mess with her head a little.

"Well, as the knew member of The Corre, I guess he wants to take it easy on ya. Or it could be the fact that you're a girl and he doesn't want to run you down too badly," Heath suggested.

"Guys, this isn't funny. When I tried to tell him I could do more he yelled at me," she claimed.

PJ looked at his sister, he could tell she was upset but didn't think the workout was the real reason. He looked at her arm and saw a bruise the size of a thumb starting to form. Immediately he stood up and grabbed her arm, scaring her slightly. Sure enough, there was a hand print bruise forming around her upper arm.

"Elizabeth, what the hell is that?" he demanded.

"Um, I'm not sure. It was probably form that kid who knocked me over in the hallway last night when I got out of the elevator," she said quickly.

"You do not bruise that easily, Elizabeth. Don't try lying to me," he countered then whipped around to look at Heath, "Are you putting your hands on my sister?"

"Paul, stop it!" she exclaimed, "Heath isn't hurting me. I told you, that kid was huge."

He just stared at her. He knew that Heath wouldn't have dared to put his hands on her; the kid wouldn't hurt a fly. Something just didn't add up, but he was determined to figure it out.

By this time, Stu was making his way towards them, "What is all the commotion about over here?" he asked, "Are you three ready to head out?"

"Stu, look at this bruise on Elizabeth's arm. What does it look like to you?" PJ asked.

"Seriously, PJ. It's from the kid who ran into me last night," she said, begging him to drop the subject.

"Let me see that," Stu said, "That definitely looks like a hand to me. You said someone ran into you? When? How does someone running into you give you a bruise on your arm?"

"Um, it happened last night. I was heading back from PJ's room after the movie. When I got out of the elevator, some kid ran into me. I don't know who it was. He must have grabbed my arm to try to keep me from falling. I ended up running into the wall and have a big bruise on my hip too," she said quietly.

"And don't forget that nice shiner under your eye I spotted last night," Heath spoke up. She'd put make up on this morning hoping he'd forgotten about it.

"Guys, it's nothing. Now lets get going. After that crappy workout, I'm extremely hungry," she lied trying to change the subject, "Where do you guys want to get breakfast at?"

Luckily it worked, Heath and PJ began arguing over restaurants as they headed towards the exit. Stu gave her a quick smirk before he walked away. He loved that she just lied to protect him. Making up lie after lie, just so they wouldn't find out. Although he was sure that it was more to protect herself from him. He would have to help her come up with a better excuse for the next time though.

Back in the car, Stu sent Elizabeth a text. _Really? Someone ran into you? That is the worse excuse I've ever heard in my entire life. Make it better next time._

He heard her phone go off, and saw her searching her gym bag for it. Looking through the mirror on his visor, he watched her reaction to it. She knew that if she ignored it, he'd punish her. As she looked up he saw her eyes start to water. Happy, he sat back into his seat.

They ate breakfast without any mention of the bruises, in fact, it seemed that they all but forgot she was there. It felt good to not be in the spotlight. They didn't even notice that she only ate half of what she ordered. When they got back to the hotel, Stu announced that they'd be leaving for the next town in two hours.

"Wait, why are we leaving so early? I think everyone else is staying here until Friday," Elizabeth asked.

"We are leaving so that we can get into a nice hotel and find the best gym before everyone else does. Do you have a problem with that?" Stu said angrily, making her take a step back.

"Jeez, man. She was just asking a question. It's not like we are in the ring right now. You don't own her," Heath jumped in, "If you want to go that's fine. But we don't all need to go at the same time."

"Heath, we are The Corre. We travel together. I just figured some time away from the rest of the guys would be good for us. Give us time to properly welcome Elizabeth into The Corre," Stu answered confidently.

"Yeah, that's actually a good idea," PJ said, "We haven't exactly initiated her yet." And with that, the four men laughed.

"Fine, I'll go get my stuff packed and I'll let Barbie know I'm going with you four. She might be a little pissed that she isn't hearing it from you though," Elizabeth said, directing the last bit towards her brother. He'd been dating Barbie for a while now and before The Corre happened, Elizabeth was traveling and rooming with her.

As Elizabeth turned to go to her room, she saw that look in Stu's eyes and panicked. She quickly gave Heath a peck on the check and the rest of the guys a small smile. Running up the stairs to the 4th floor probably wasn't the best idea, but it was better than being stuck in an elevator with the guys who no doubt would remember her bruises and start questioning her again. She took a quick shower and packed all of her things in her bag. She said good-bye to Barbie and headed down to PJ's car. Heath rode with Stu, while Ryck and Elizabeth rode with PJ. She settled in the front seat and feel asleep quickly.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

When they made it to their hotel, Heath woke Elizabeth up with a kiss on her lips. She opened her eyes and couldn't help but ask him if she was dreaming. He smiled at her and brought her up to The Corre's suite. There were three rooms in the suite so the guys decided that the four of them would split two and she could have one room to herself. It made her nervous, but she couldn't say anything about it.

The next couple days went smoothly. Heath had slept in her room every single night, which meant no intruders she couldn't fight off. She was smiling more and she was eating again. The workouts that Stu was giving her were more intense and the bruises were fading nicely. She was starting to feel like her old self again.

"I'm not exactly sure what it is about this place," PJ said, "but it's good for you, sis. When you smile, I can see it in your eyes again. You seem peppy again."

"Peej, what are you babbling about?" she giggled, "I didn't lose my peppy."

"Yeah, you did. The light in your eyes has been missing for a few weeks now. We didn't say anything about it because we just thought you'd get pissed at us. But now that it's back, I'm saying it. I've missed it," PJ replied.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. The rest of the superstars were just starting to make their way to the new town for the house shows and she was excited to see her friends. Tonight, she was going out with Barbie and Maryse and she was looking forward to having a fantastic time.

"Okay, whatever you say. I'm going to go get ready. I'll be out late, so tell the boys not to stay up for me," she smiled, heading towards her room.

Out at the club, Elizabeth was enjoying herself. It was the first time in a long time she actually felt free and not scared to death. On the dance floor the girls were dancing without a care in the world, until Elizabeth saw Stu and one of his friends from back home in England walk in. Quickly she ran to the bathroom and tried to compose herself. She didn't know if she could stay there any more. She felt her phone vibrate from inside her clutch. When she took it out it said she'd received a text from Stu. _Don't worry, we wont bother you tonight. You looked like you were having fun. Come back out, your girls are looking for you. I'll just enjoy from a distance._

It made her not want to leave the bathroom. Her phone went off again, and she read _Get out here and dance now. That is an order, you will follow it or else…_

She replied with _Or else what? You'll attack me on the dance floor. Good luck with that, the girls wont keep quiet if they see you putting your hands on me. _

As soon as she sent it she regretted it. She walked back out to the dance floor and tried to ignore the dark eyes that were staring at her. She didn't last too long before she whispered in Barbie's ear that she was going to head back to the hotel.

"Are you sure you don't want us to walk back with you?" Maryse was asking in her think French accent, "It's really late, and you don't know what kind of creeps are going to be out and about."

"Guys, don't worry. The hotel is right across the street. I'll text my brother and Heath to let them know I'm crossing the street just incase they would like to hold my hand like a two year old," she teased.

Both girls gave her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before she walked out of the club. She was getting ready to call Heath when her phone was taken out of her hand. She was about to yell at the thief but when she looked up she felt paralyzed. In front of her stood Stu, a very angry looking Stu. When she went to back up, she felt someone behind her and quickly whipped around seeing his friend.

"Don't think you're going to get away that fast, love," his friend growled at her making her take a step backwards into Stu's waiting arms.

She tried to scream but nothing came out of her lips. His breath smelled of beer as his lips touched her ear, "Will here has his own hotel room. And if you would like, we were wondering if we could bring you back to it," Stu said, teasing her.

She shook her head but was stopped instantly by a hard smack to the face. Stu took her by the hand and walked her across the street to the hotel. He pulled her to his friend's hotel room and shoved her inside, his friend slamming the door shut behind them, making sure the deadbolt was locked. Stu turned on some music and told her to dance. Elizabeth wasn't sure what to do so she just stood there looking at the floor.

_Disobeying me in front of my friend, _Stu thought, _how dare you. _And with that he shoved her onto the floor. When she looked up at him she had that helpless look on her face that always turned him on. He pulled her up by her hair.

"Now dance, bitch," he commanded. At first she looked awkward, but she eventually closed her eyes and let the music take over her. The two men just stood there watching her and enjoying her movements.

"Take that cheap looking dress off," Stu said, pulling her back into the present, "Take it off so we can see what you are hiding underneath."

She stood there staring at him in disbelief until he moved so fast she didn't even have time to react. Suddenly she was being thrown into the wall, her breath totally knocked out of her. She gasped desperately as he growled at her, "Are we deaf tonight, love? I said take it off."

He pushed himself off of her and stepped back, waiting. He knew she would do it; she did everything he told her to. He laughed to himself recalling everything he's made her do. He watched her close her eyes as she reached around to unzip the back of her dress and began sliding it slowly off her shoulders and down her arms. Usually he didn't like when she took her time, but right now he was enjoying it.

"What did I tell you, Will?" Stu asked, "I'll leave you two alone. Let me know when you're finished with her. If she doesn't listen to you, just hit her. She wont fight back if she feels threatened."

When she opened her eyes again, Elizabeth only saw Stu's friend. He was just standing there staring at her making her feel self-conscious.

"Where's Stu?" she asked quietly.

"He left. My name is Will. Don't worry though, I'll take good care of you," he replied in a voice that didn't make her feel safe at all.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Pain. She wasn't aware of anything except the pain she was in. She knew she was walking, leaning on someone strong, but she didn't know where she was or who was holding her. Then she was lying down, covered with a blanket.

"Sleep tight, love," Stu whispered in her ear. And then she was out.

He didn't know if it was the pain or exhaustion, but Elizabeth passed out as soon as he laid her on the bed and covered her up. He looked at her; she looked so fragile as she slept. She truly was beautiful, so maybe that was what made him start this thing between them. _No, you idiot, _he thought to himself, _it started when she chose that stupid ginger hick over me. _She'd known Stu longer than she'd known Heath. They'd known each other before either left their home countries for America, but somehow she always overlooked him and it infuriated him.

He walked out of her room and into his own. Heath was still awake when Stu came in.

"Is Elizabeth back too?" he asked

"I don't think so. She looked like she was having a lot of fun when I left," Stu replied. He waited for Heath to fall asleep before he letting himself sleep.

When Elizabeth woke up, it was still dark outside. Her mouth was dry and she could hardly swallow, so she walked quietly into the kitchen of the hotel suite. While grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge, she heard someone walk into the kitchen.

"Good morning," she heard her brother say happily, "Did you have fun with the girls last night?"

"Um, yeah I did but I left early," she replied without turning to look at him, "I think I'm going to go take a shower."

Suddenly she felt a pair of strong arms tighten around her shoulders, she tensed and whimpered in pain. The owner of the arms dropped immediately trying to turn her around.

"Hey, are you alright? I was just trying to give you a hug," Heath said in shock.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she managed.

He tried to turn her around and when he finally did Heath and PJ both yelled at the top of their lungs.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?" they both screamed at her, making her cry.

Stu stumbled out of his room obviously being woken up by the sound of the two yelling. He took one look at Elizabeth and knew she was going to say something. He just started at her, with his mouth hanging wide open. She hadn't looked that bad last night when he brought her back to her room.

Heath spun around towards Stu, "I thought you said she was having a good time when you left last night," he yelled at Stu.

Stu just stood there pretending to be dumbfounded. "Wait, I thought you just said you left early? Stu didn't get there until late," PJ said turning everyone's attention back to Elizabeth.

"Um, well, I left the girls early. Then I ran into Stu and his friend on my way over back here and we decided to go to a different club. I was dancing and having fun when the guys wanted to go, so I told them I'd find my own way back to the hotel," she said trying to figure out where to go from there.

"Okay, that's fine. But how does that explain you looking like someone beat the shit out of you?" her brother demanded, and with that Elizabeth started crying.

"I don't know," she lied, "Can I please just go take a shower?"

"No," PJ and Heath said at once.

"Elizabeth Ann Lloyd, tell us what happened to you, now. If you don't them I'll calling mom and dad, then I'm putting you on the first flight back to Cape Town I can find," PJ threatened.

She looked at Stu, not wanting to ruin his life, but not being able to lie to her brother any longer.

"I- I don't know his name. I thought they both had left and I started to get ready to go home. When I walked out of the club he was just standing there staring at me. I asked him where Stu was and he told me that he left. He told me that he'd take good care of me. And I figured that since he was friends with Stu that he was telling me the truth," she sobbed as Heath took her into his arms gently.

"Stu, who the hell is your friend? If you don't tell me, so help me God-" PJ started to say.

"No, this is all my fault," Stu said, "I'll go talk to him. And by talk, I mean physically assault him."

As he walked out, Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. All she wanted was to go take a shower, a nice hot shower. She closed her eyes and thought about the warm water when her thoughts were interrupted.

"Elizabeth," he started, "I know that you don't want me to ask you this, but I'm going to. And I know this is going to be awkward, but frankly I don't care. Did he, ya know, force himself-"

"Stop, Paul. Stop. This isn't a conversation I want to have with you. I do not want to talk about something like that with you," Elizabeth interrupted.

"Okay, if you wont talk to him, then talk to me," Heath said, "We need to know. If he did anything else we need to know. We can press charges and-"

"NO!" she yelled, "No, he didn't force himself on me. No, I don't want to press charges. I just want to forget it ever happened. Please just drop it. I'm going to take a shower, and I would really like you two to forget this conversation even happened. Stu is taking care of it, so please no more."

As she walked towards her room she heard PJ say, "It'll be hard to forget this conversation ever happened. The bruises tell the whole story."

She was afraid to look into the mirror so she just got into the shower and turned it on as hot as she could stand it. The water hurt when it hit her skin and she looked down to see that she had bruises on her shoulders, chest, and stomach too. She softly washed herself, trying to keep her cry silent. When she stepped out of the shower, she forcer herself to look in the mirror and what she saw made her cry out loud.

The guys heard her cry and ran into her room. She snatched the towel that was hanging on the door before they got a chance to see her naked, bruised body. They both shared a terrified look that she immediately felt guilty about.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I think I scared myself too," she said quietly not making eye contact, "I don't think I can do the house show tonight. Make-up won't be able to cover this up."

They both stared at her, not understanding how she could joke about something like this. It wasn't her and they new something was going on. They just didn't know what it was.

"It's all been taken care of. Elizabeth, I am so sorry. I don't know how I can ever repay you. I didn't know he was like that. We've been friends for such a long time, I never expected it from him," Stu said as he walked into her hotel room.

She just stood there. She couldn't say anything. He was lying, she was lying, and she couldn't stand it. She figured that if she just stayed silent then she could just stop lying.

"I found this in his room," Stu told her, "I'm pretty sure it's your phone."

PJ grabbed her phone from him, _if she is hiding anything from us, it'll be here_, he thought.

"P, stop it. That's my phone," she said trying to get it from him, not concerned about her towel falling off her shoulders revealing those bruises as well.

"What the hell?" PJ said as he looked through her text messages from the night before, "Did you really think we wouldn't find out about this?" He was looking at Stu, someone he once considered a friend, "You set it up. You knew all along that this would happen."

And then Heath tackled him, not caring the context of the conversation, he just new that it was Stu's fault that Elizabeth was hurt.

"No, stop. Please stop it," Elizabeth cried.

PJ went to her, forcing her to look in his eyes. He could see the tears starting to form and even though he didn't want to hurt her more than she already was hurting, he needed to ask her- and she needed to be honest with him.

"Elizabeth, you need to stop lying. Don't lie to protect him, either of them. If they hurt you, they deserve to be punished," PJ told her.

"No, it was my fault. Please, Heath, stop," her voice got quiet, she couldn't look at them, "Please just get out, I need to get dressed."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

_It's been two weeks, Elizabeth. I've missed you so much. PJ and I can't wait to pick you up at the airport later today. Love you, Heath._

As she read the text, she thought about all that had happened over the past two weeks. Vince McMahon had given her two weeks off when he found out what happened. She'd packed her bags and immediately headed to Tampa. She told her friends goodbye and hadn't spoken to any of them since. Her brother called her every single day and left a message. The only people she would talk to were her parents; she just needed time to herself for a while.

Before she left, she made sure to clear Stu's name. She told Heath and PJ that his friend probably sent those texts from Stu's phone and then from hers as well. They seemed to believe it and when she left, all three of them took her to the airport. She'd gotten a few messages from Stu when she got off the plane in Tampa, thanking her for not telling them, but other than that she hadn't heard from him either. She'd called Heath and told him that she didn't want to talk to any one, that she needed some time to clear her head. At first he had argued with her, but eventually he sadly complied. Even though he'd texted her every morning when he woke up and every night before he fell asleep, he wanted her to know that he was still thinking about him.

She started packing her bag slowly. She wasn't sure if she was ready to go back just yet. All of the bruises had gone away for the most part, the only thing left was the emotional scarring. These past two weeks she'd done whatever she could to keep her mind off it. She was in the gym everyday almost all day long. She ran twice a day and swam at night. Her parents said the same thing to her every time she talked to them, "Elizabeth, you need to talk to your brother. He is worried sick about you. The only reason he knows you're alive is because you talk to us."

She'd tried to explain to them that she just needed some time to think. They didn't know about the attack and she couldn't explain to them that PJ would just try to get her to talk about what happened. She didn't want to deal with that. So when Heath told her that PJ was going to be at the airport too she became hesitant. She figured that she should text him back.

_I know I've missed you too. Um, I hate to ask, but can you pick me up alone? Just tell P that my flight got cancelled or something, and then come get me? It'll be like we are surprising him, _she wrote back. She hoped he'd go along with it.

_Are you sure you want to surprise him? He's going to be pissed at you either way_, he texted back. It was true. Towards the end of these two weeks, PJ's messages had gotten angry. He was mad at her for not telling their parents what happened and he was mad at her for not answering when they called or texted.

_I know, but I'd rather him yell at me at the hotel instead of the airport. Please Heath? Plus, we'll get alone time before I get grounded (:, _she knew he'd smile at that last part.

She finished packing and looked around her apartment. She cleaned up a little and turned off the lights. Then she went through to make sure the doors and windows were locked. She sighed as she walked out of the apartment and locked her door. She had called for a taxi and wasn't surprised when she saw one waiting at the front of her building.

At the airport she got checked in and went through security before finally finding her gate. She looked out the windows and sighed. She was leaving Tampa to go back on the road. She was excited about going back, but nervous at the same time.

Before she boarded she checked her phone and saw that she'd missed one text from Heath and two texts from PJ.

_Oh, I like that idea. Let me just tell your brother. See you soon. –Heath._

_ No, no, no, no, no. Do not try to pull the whole "flight got cancelled" BS on me. I'm not stupid, Elizabeth. I'm going with Heath to pick you up from the airport. I don't care what you say. –P_

_ SERIOUSLY? HE JUST LEFT WITHOUT TELLIING ME HE WAS LEAVING. That's fine, I'll drive by myself, I'm a big boy I have my own car. You are not getting out of this. Ps. I'm extremely pissed at you right now. –PJ_

She just shook her head and smiled to herself. It felt weird to smile and she realized how much she missed them, how much she truly needed them in her life.

The plane ride went quickly due to the fact that she'd fallen asleep before they even took off. Now that she was on the ground again and walking towards the baggage claim, she was getting nervous again. As she got to the escalator she saw what she needed to the most. Long red hair and a huge smile standing next to short black hair with an angry look on his face. PJ's look changed when he saw how her face lit up when she saw the two of them. His sister pushed pass the people in front of her and jumped into his arms. They hadn't hugged like this in a long time and momentarily he forgot all about his anger.

"Oh my gosh, PJ I've missed you. I've missed both of you!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she let go and hugged her boyfriend.

"That hug only makes up for about 50% of the anger I have for you right now, Bee," PJ said, calling her by a nickname she hadn't heard in years.

It brought a lump to her through that she quickly swallowed. "Can we not get into this here?" she asked calmly, "I didn't want you to come because I didn't want to get yelled at in the airport."

"Fine, not here. But as soon as we get to the hotel, it is on," her older brother teased.

The three of them walked to get her bags and headed to the hotel, PJ arriving just after her and Heath. For a minute, she just sat in the car with Heath, holding his hand for dear life.

"You look scared, pretty girl," Heath told her.

"How mad is he?" was all she could get out, she didn't really want to know the answer.

"You hurt him, babe. He was really scared when you didn't answer. Then when he found out you were talking to your parents and not him, I think that hurt him even more. He wouldn't talk to any of us for the first 3 days. I mean, did you see last weeks SmackDown? He lost to Santino, he just couldn't focus," Heath said.

"I'm sorry, I just needed," she started. She didn't really know what she needed.

"I know. But he just needed to make sure his baby sister was safe. He blames himself for it, ya know. He didn't protect you like he should have, and he was really depressed about it," Heath admitted.

"I should probably go talk to him. But first I have to ask you, are you mad at me, too?" she said it so quietly it was almost inaudible.

"I'm not mad, babe. I was never mad. Hurt? Hell yeah, I was hurt. But I knew that you were doing what you thought you had to do. You know that you have my whole heart, and I'll wait for you as long as it takes. We were all scared though. But, you are here now, and that is all that really matters. I love you, pretty girl," he told her and then kissed her hand gently, making her smile, "There's that smile I've missed so much."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

As she made her way to their hotel room with Heath by her side, she kept telling herself to breathe. When they reached the door, she took a quick look at Heath before he unlocked the door and led her inside.

"Elizabeth!" Stu and Ryck said at the same time.

"Hi guys. Where is he?" she asked back and they pointed to the room where her brother was as a response.

She walked over to the room, took a deep breath, and went inside. PJ was sitting on the bed, with his head in his hands. She didn't say anything; she just waited for him to start yelling at her. She was so prepared for him to scream that what he did surprised her.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. At first she wasn't sure she heard him right, _what does he have to be sorry about?_ She thought to herself, _he didn't do anything wrong._

"I let you down. I didn't protect you and you got hurt. I am so sorry," he said, "I know that's why you wouldn't talk to me. But I hope that you can forgive me, I cannot go any longer without my sister."

When he finally looked up at her, she could see the tears running down his face. It made her feel so guilty.

"Hey, stop. Do not blame yourself for what happened. It was in no way your fault. I'm not mad at you, and it isn't why I wasn't talking to you. I didn't talk to any one except for mom and dad. I just felt so ashamed; I needed to talk to people who didn't know about it. I didn't want to face it. I still don't want to, but I'm here. I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you. I'm just so sorry, P," she cried as he took her into his arms and held her close, "You are the best brother that a girl could ever ask for. I'm sorry that I treated you so terribly, I'm sorry that I disappeared for two weeks. I realized when I saw you and Heath waiting for me at the bottom of the escalator that I need you two so much. You are my strength. I listened to your messages every single day, and I read Heath's every single day. Then when I say you both today, waiting for me, I felt so much happiness and love. I know that I can't live without you two. So, it's my turn to ask for you to forgive me. I messed up, but I promise it will never happen again."

When she finished talking, PJ just looked at her. The last time he saw her, she was covered in bruises, but they were all healed now. He saw her blue eyes and couldn't help but think about the time when they were growing up that he told her she was adopted because her eyes were blue and his were brown. She'd cried so hard and he'd gotten grounded for a week. He laughed at the memory.

"I'm so glad you're back, Bee," he said, using her childhood nickname again, "I could never stay angry at you, not for long at least. And sure as hell not when you're here standing in front of me. I promise to protect you better, I will do what ever it takes to make sure you are 100% safe."

When they walked out to the living room part of the suite, they saw 3 pairs of eyes just staring at them. All three guys thought there would be a screaming match, but they heard nothing. PJ had been so upset when Heath left without him to go to the airport, and again when he stormed into the hotel after picking Elizabeth up. It was like nothing had happened at all and they were totally shocked.

"Is everything alright?" Heath asked, "We didn't hear anything."

PJ and Elizabeth looked at each other and laughed. "Yeah, everything is fine. We just needed to talk things out," PJ answered, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. Who wants to go out to eat? Elizabeth's buying!"

"I most certainly am not!" Elizabeth laughed. Everyone started getting ready while PJ showed Elizabeth what room was hers and left her to unpack. She was just about to walk out when someone knocked on her door. When she answered, she was surprised to see Stu standing there. She let him in, leaving the door open.

"I, uh, just wanted to thank you for not telling them what happened," he said blankly.

"I got your text. Don't worry about it, I guess. I don't really have anything to say to you though. I just want to forget all of it ever happened," she told him, and walked out of her room.

The other three were waiting for them in the lobby. Elizabeth took Heath's hand and walked with them to PJ's SUV and got in. She was surprised when only Heath, PJ, and Ryck joined her. She watched as Stu got into his own car and sped off.

"Where is he going?" she asked calmly.

"He said he had to stop somewhere before he joined us at the restaurant. Said he'd text me to let me know when he was there," her brother explained, "You should probably know that he didn't talk to us until last night. He was so upset with himself. He put you in danger without knowing it and I don't think he knows what to say about it. I think you should talk to him, hun."

"I don't really have anything to say to him though," she answered coldly.

"Elizabeth, he didn't know that it was going to happen. He honestly thought you were safe," Ryck said quietly.

She couldn't say anything more. She just looked down at her hands in her lap. _He did know it was going to happen, he set it up. He knew that I wasn't safe, he just didn't know how unsafe I was_, she thought. She felt her eyes start to water and tried as hard as she could to blink back the tears. It didn't work, within seconds she felt them rolling down her cheeks. Looking out the window, she tried to wipe them away without making it obvious but they kept coming. She hadn't cried, really cried, about any of what happened and she knew it was good for her to get it all out, but she didn't want to cry in front of the guys.

When they got to the restaurant, Elizabeth went straight to the bathroom without look at the other three guys. She wanted to fix her make up so they didn't know she was crying. As she walked out of the bathroom she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

_We need to talk –Stu._ Ignoring it, she went and looked for Ryck, Heath, and PJ. When she found them, she slid into the booth where Heath was sitting and grabbed a menu.

"What are you guys going to get?" she asked.

"We were thinking that we should probably wait for Stu," Heath told her.

She looked through her menu quietly as they waited for Stu to show up. He got there ten minutes later and they placed their order. Dinner was rather quiet and Heath knew something was wrong with her. She didn't eat very much and he was worried that she hadn't eaten healthily when she was home. When they got back to the hotel, he took her hand and walked her to her room, shutting the door behind him.

"Talk to me," he begged, "What is going on with you? You barely said a word at dinner. We've been so excited all day that you were coming home and you get here and say nothing. What did you do when you were home?"

"Nothing is going on with me. I guess I'm just tired; it's been a long day. When I was home I worked out, all day everyday. I downloaded a ton of music too. Mostly, I just missed you," she answered, "Please don't be angry with me. I'm really excited that I'm back with you guys too, I promise. I just feel out of place right now. A lot of stuff happened and I'm trying to figure out where to store it in my head."

"What do you mean? Store it in your head? You need to get it out. You need to talk about it. You need-" he said before she interrupted her.

"No!" she yelled shocking him, "No, I don't need to talk about it. Why do you think I haven't talked to PJ? He would have forced me to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it. I deserved it, I deserved what happened. Are you happy? Is that what you wanted to hear me say? Because that is what's going through my head right now. That is all I can think of. It's my fault, not PJ's, not Stu's, not even his friend. It's my fault."

She was crying so hard that she could barely breathe. He just stood there staring at her. He couldn't believe what she'd just said. When he finally got over her shock, he took her in his arms.

"Don't you ever let me hear you say that again. Don't you ever say that you deserved that. You did nothing wrong. Babe, look at me," he said, but she refused to look at him so he took her face in his hands and forced her to, "You are beautiful. You don't deserve any one to hurt you. It is not your fault, please do not blame yourself. I love you more than you can ever imagine and I promise that no one will ever hurt you again."

She just stood there in his arms. It felt so good to have him hold her again. She pulled away and went to the bed, and lied down. She felt the bed move as he pulled the blankets down and covered her up then got on top of the blankets and held her close. Deep down, Heath knew she was fighting some kind of inner battle. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it was tearing her apart. He swore to himself that he would find it out, even if she didn't tell him


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Heath waited until he knew she was in a deep sleep before getting up and going out to the living room of The Corre's hotel suite. PJ, Ryck and Stu were all playing a game but paused it when they saw him walk out. They'd heard her yelling and then didn't hear anything after that.

"What happened in there?" PJ asked looking worried.

"I don't know," Heath responded with a sadness in his eyes, "She just broke down on me. Was I the only one who noticed how little she ate at dinner? She looks too small to me. She said she worked out all day everyday when she was home. I'm really worried about her, PJ. I think she is doing it again."

"Damn it," PJ yelled angrily.

"Doing what again?" Stu asked.

"I'm sure she'll kill me when she finds out that I'm telling you guys this, she practically did when I told Heath." PJ began, "When we were younger, Elizabeth suffered from anorexia. It got pretty bad and she ended up in the hospital. I didn't know what was going on. I just figured that she was working out a lot and that was why she was losing weight. She wasn't even big to begin with; she was always small. I blamed myself. I was with her when she passed out. They rushed her to the hospital and couldn't get her to wake up. I just remember that they put IV's in her and pumped her full of electrolytes. She was so dehydrated and her body was completely exhausted. She looked so empty in the hospital bed. I made a promise to myself and to my parents that I would never let anyone or anything hurt her ever again. I broke that promise once already. And there is no way in hell that I am going to let her hurt herself."

He stormed off to her room, fully intending to wake her up, but when he got in there he saw her sitting on the bed with tears in her eyes. When she saw him she ran to him and jumped into his arms. He was totally speechless; she looked like a completely different person from when she left two weeks ago.

_How did I miss this earlier, _he thought to himself, _how did I not see the signs this time, she feels empty again._

"Elizabeth, what is going on?" he managed to say. He pulled her away and set her on the bed, kneeling in front of her.

"I don't know," she said slowly.

"No, that is not a good enough answer. I want to know when this started up again," he said before she could say anymore.

"I think it started two months ago," she said slowly, realizing she couldn't lie to him, "when you guys started The Corre. Some stuff happened, and I got that feeling again. That feeling that I can't breathe if I eat even one bite of anything. That feeling that I need to be weightless. At first it wasn't bad, I ate healthy foods and drank a lot of water. I thought I had it under control and I had you and Heath watching my every move, I knew it was all right. Then more stuff happened and I went home. I didn't have your support and every time I ate I would just think about what happened. My brain kept telling me that if I hadn't eaten anything that night it wouldn't have happened, so I just stopped. It wasn't like last time though, when I was younger. Back then I wouldn't drink anything either, but I was drinking protein shakes and a ton of water. I was at the gym or running all day long, and then at night I would go back to the apartment and swim. I couldn't eat and I couldn't sleep. Then I got here and I was with you and Heath and I felt a little better. I ate at dinner and I kind of feel sleep when Heath was in here, I just woke up when I heard him walk out and when you yelled. I'm sorry about everything, Peej. I'm so sorry."

"What stuff happened when we started The Corre?" he asked confused, "Stuff I don't know about? Stuff Heath doesn't know about?"

She nodded but couldn't continue. She just sat there staring at her hands until she felt someone's arms around her, they were strong and felt familiar, but they weren't her brothers. She tensed up automatically because she couldn't see who it was. The arms released instantly.

"What? Did I hurt you?" she heard a southern twang ask her and she immediately felt guilty.

"No, Heath. I'm sorry. I guess I'm still a little jumpy," she replied sadly.

"Don't be sorry, babe," he replied and she yawned, "Do you want to lie down again?"

"Only if you promise not to leave me again," she answered.

"I will never leave you, pretty girl," he said and she smiled, "God, I've missed that beautiful smile around this place. All I've seen is moping frowns. But now I've got something to look at again."

"I'll let you guys get some sleep. Before I go though, are you going to feel up to hitting the gym with us in the morning?" he said, "I don't really know what Stu has planned, but I'm sure he'll be pissed if all members of The Corre aren't present, since we are back together again." He was worried that Elizabeth would overdo it, but she nodded.

"I'll be there," she said quickly, not wanting to make Stu and more mad at her than he probably already was for not answering his text from earlier.

She waited for her brother to walk out of her room before she started crying again. She put her head in her hands while Heath rubbed her back. They'd been together for almost 2 years and he knew that when she cried, she had to get it all out. _She bottles her emotions up too much_¸ he thought, _I wish there was something I could do to help her._ When she finished crying he picked her up and laid her down at the top of the bed then crawled under the covers with her.

"Pajamas," she said quietly and got back out of bed to put on a pair of shorts and take her t-shirt off so she was just wearing shorts and a sports bra to bed. He took off his shirt and they climbed back under the covers. She immediately curled into his chest and fell asleep. He watched her for a while as she slept before finally falling asleep himself.

It was either really late at night or really early in the morning when she woke up again. Elizabeth got out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake Heath up. She walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. The water felt good on her throat and she stood at the sink for a while thinking. She wasn't tired anymore and didn't feel like going back to bed. Looking at the clock on the microwave, she realized that it was 4:15am. _There really is no reason to even try getting back to sleep now, _she thought, sighing. She turned on the TV and waited for the rest of them to wake up.

He walked quietly out into the living room, knowing nobody would be awake at 4:30 in the morning, only to find the TV was on. He saw her lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Staring at her for a while, he saw everything that attracted him to her in the first place. Her hair, for starters, she had beautiful long brown hair that she straightened furiously, he loved it when it was curly though. She had these beautiful blue eyes that, he swore, could look into your soul if you stared into them for too long. Finally, her ability to love everyone around her, no matter how much wrong they had done to her. After everything he'd done to her, she still hadn't told the two people she was closest to; she was still lying to protect him.

Elizabeth felt someone looking at her and sat up, immediately regretting it. She jumped off the couch and ran into her own room, slamming the door hard. Heath jumped awake at the sound of it.

"What's wrong?" he asked, "What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm sorry I woke you up," she said, "I just shut the door too hard. The window must be open or something, making it slam harder. I'm sorry."

He sighed softly, "Don't be sorry," he felt like he told her that so many times since she'd gotten back on the road, "And you have got to stop apologizing all the time."

Heath got up to give her a hug but stopped when he saw that she was giggling at him.

"What are you all giddy about over there?" he asked, his southern accent heavy from sleep.

She pointed to his hair, which was messy from sleeping with it down. He quickly ran over to her and picked her up, gently putting her on the bed. He started tickling her while she tried her best to get away. She was laughing so loud.

"Stop it!" she screamed, "Heath, stop!"

They were laughing so loud that they didn't hear anyone come in and were extremely shocked when Heath was thrown off the bed and onto the floor.

"What the hell do you think you are dong?" a voice thick with an accent similar to her own yelled.

Elizabeth sat up quickly; knowing that PJ thought Heath was hurting her, "P, stop. He wasn't hurting me, he was tickling me!" she told him, trying to pull him away from Heath. He wasn't budging so she made him look into her eyes until he calmed down.

"You told me last night that stuff happened when we started The Corre," PJ started, "I want you to tell me what exactly happened. And I want you to tell me right now."

She looked down at her feet; she'd totally forgotten she had told PJ that something happened. Now she wished she hadn't.

"Elizabeth," he said, a little nicer this time, "You said that Heath and I didn't know about it. We need to know what set you off so that we can help fix it."

"I can't tell you," she said quietly, still looking at her feet.

"Why? Why can't you tell us? Do you not see how worried we are about you? This isn't right. We can't help you if you don't tell us what happened," PJ said, getting angry again.

"Please, broer," she said speaking in their native tongue, "I just can't tell you. I love you both, and I guess, if you can't help me then you can't-"

"We are going to help you no matter what, Bee," he interrupted her, "You mean everything to us and we can't let you face this alone. I'm probably jumping to conclusions right now, but if the stuff with Stu's friend set you off when you went home, did something like that happen to set you off two months ago?"

She looked up at him completely shocked, then terrified. She got up and ran out of the suite before any of them could stop her. PJ was frozen to the floor, his legs wouldn't work. He'd guessed it right; he saw the answer in her eyes. When he made eye contact with Heath, PJ could see the shock in his eyes too. _How did we miss this? How did we not see it, _he asked himself. It seemed like it took hours to pull them back together and finally chase after her.

When they got out in the hall, they ran into Barbie and Drew going over their script.

"Did you guys see Liz?" Heath asked in a panic.

"Uh, yeah. She ran down the hallway just a bit ago. She looked like she was crying," Drew answered, "Do you need some help finding her?"

"Yeah, we do. Barbs can you call her for me?" PJ asked and watched as she pulled out her phone. The guys took off down the hall and searched the hotel for her, but they couldn't find her.

"Liz, it's me. Where are you?" Barbie asked as Elizabeth answered her phone, "Okay, I'll meet you there. No, don't move. I'll come alone, I promise," she hung up and called PJ, "I just talked to her. I'm going to get her. No, I told her I'd come alone. She said she doesn't want to talk to you or Heath right now. She sounded pretty upset. I'll text you as soon as I get to her."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Barbie knew exactly where Elizabeth was. It was always their favorite spots at any hotel they'd stayed at. It was always the first place they headed when they got to a new hotel. Luckily, Barbie had checked it out when she got there even though she knew Elizabeth wasn't at the hotel yet. She headed straight to the laundry room. Laughing about the memory of the first time she'd met Elizabeth.

_Hearing the rumbling of the washers and dryers had always calmed Barbie, ever since she was a little kid. She was nervous on night before a big match and she went found the laundry room. She was shocked when she entered it and realized she wasn't alone. She saw Elizabeth sitting against a dryer with her eyes closed and her headphones in. Not wanting to scare her, Barbie tapped her foot softly. Elizabeth jumped up to her feet screaming. The two of them had starred at each other for a full minute before laughing and introducing themselves. _

She walked in and sat on the floor next to her best friend. She didn't say anything for a long time, knowing that her presence was enough. She texted PJ as she promised and put her phone in her pocket, nothing was going to interrupt this talk.

"Liz?" she asked softly, "Talk to me. Tell me what's going on. Heath told me that you didn't want to talk to anyone when you were home. Speaking of home, why did you go home in the first place?"

Elizabeth just sat there for a few minutes before taking a deep breath, "Remember that night we went out to the club? When you guys got the new town, just before I went home? I walked outside and was getting my phone out to call Heath, but my phone was taken from me." She stopped, not wanting to continue but know she had to, "These two guys surrounded me and dragged me to a room in the hotel. One of them left and the other beat me and-"

She couldn't finish. She had told Heath and PJ that nothing else happened. She didn't want to talk any more so she just put her face in her hands and cried.

"Please tell me that you aren't saying what I think you are. Bee, why didn't you tell me?" Barbie was one of the only non-family people who were allowed to call her Bee.

Elizabeth shook her head silently as Barbie asked, "Did you know who the guys were?" Elizabeth responded with only a nod.

"Who?" Barbie asked loudly, making Elizabeth jump, "I'm sorry, hun. Who were they?"

Elizabeth took another deep breath, "One of them was that friend of Stu's from England." She said with a shaky breath.

She looked up when she heard Barbie gasp, "The other was Stu?" she asked. Elizabeth couldn't say anything, she just cried harder.

"B, please don't tell them. Please, you don't understand. If you tell them, if they find out I told you, they'll hurt both of us. I shouldn't have just told you that. Please forget we even had this conversation. For me, B?" she waited for Barbie to nod before running out of the hotel laundry room.

Barbie slowly lifted herself from the floor. She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there but she knew it was close to noon by now. She walked slowly to her own hotel room and called PJ asking him to come to her room so they could talk. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to tell him, but she had to think of some thing. He didn't answer so she guessed he was at the gym with the rest of The Corre and he'd let her know when he was his way back to the hotel.

When Elizabeth got back to the suite, she wouldn't talk to any of the guys. She took a shower and changed into a black sports bra and black shorts. She walked out to the living room, ignoring the stares and said "Are we going to the gym or not?" After that, she walked out to PJ's Escalade and got in the back seat. She didn't say anything the whole ride there and as soon as they got there she put her headphones in and went to do her own thing. She didn't realize how long she'd been working out when she felt someone tap her on her shoulder as she was lifting weights. It made her jump and drop the weights. Luckily, Heath was paying attention and caught them before they hurt her.

"Are you about ready to had back, pretty girl?" he asked cautiously, "We all finished up about 10 minutes ago."

She nodded to him as she got up to walk away. He pulled her into his arms and kissed affectionately on the lips. It shocked her, but she closed her eyes and kissed him back. When they parted, he grabbed her hand and walked her over to her bag, picked it up and walked her out to the SUV. When they got in he pulled her close to him and held her all the way back to the hotel.

They took turns taking a shower and spent the rest of the time before they had to leave to go to the arena lying in bed. They didn't talk but they held each other close, neither willing to let the other go when Ryck came in and told them it was time to leave for the arena.

"Come on, babe. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get back here," Heath told her as he pulled her up out of the bed. He stopped her as she headed to the other side of the room to get her bag of ring gear, "I love you, pretty girl. Don't you ever forget that."

"I love you too, handsome," she told him. It was the first time she'd spoken to him since she ran out the door at 5:00 this morning, she softly kissed him on his lips before turning and packing her stuff for the show.

PJ sighed as he looked at his watch; it was time to go to the arena. He'd been lying in Barbie's room since they got back to the hotel. When he asked her about her talk with Elizabeth, she simply shook her head. He knew that meant she was sworn to secrecy. _Damn girl code,_ he thought to himself. When Barbie refused to tell him, he knew she deserved an explanation, so he told her everything he knew and the things he had assumed. When he was finished he saw that she had tears in her eyes, and he asked if she could tell him about her conversation with his sister, but she still refused.

"We have to get going, Barbie," he stated simply without moving, "I'm going to ask you one more time, and then I wont bother you about it until I have more information. Please tell me what Elizabeth told you. If she is in danger, then I need to know."

"I'm sorry, Pauly," she answered, "I promised her that I wouldn't tell you. But I will tell you to keep an eye on her. Don't let her leave your sights. She isn't going to hurt herself, I don't think, but someone around us could. That's all I can tell you. If I tell you more, she'll think that she can't trust me. I need her to trust me right now."

He nodded softly. Barbie was worried about whatever Elizabeth told her. And he couldn't tell if Barbie was in danger for knowing something, or if it was just Elizabeth. He prayed that he could protect them both and keep them safe.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

They were all riding in PJ's Escalade, listening to a CD Elizabeth made for all of their road trips. They all knew the songs by heart, but Elizabeth swore to them they were her favorite songs and she didn't want to change it just yet. The song Black and Yellow played loudly and the system in PJ's SUV boomed.

"Change it, now! Please, turn it off," Elizabeth yelled covering her ears as PJ reached and pushed the off button. Heath could feel her shaking in the seat next to him and reached over to put his arm around her.

"Hey, you're alright," Heath told her, "You used to love that song. Why don't you want to listen to it?"

"I, uh, I just, I-" she stumbled over her words, "I don't like it any more. I'll make a new CD tonight. I'm sorry I yelled."

PJ knew something was up and looked at Heath through his rear-view mirror, saw the worried look in his eyes and knew Heath was thinking the same thing.

"I talked to Barbie when we got back from the-" PJ started, but couldn't finish.

"What did she tell you?" Elizabeth interrupted quickly, looking nervous.

"What did you tell her?" PJ replied, "I want to hear it from your mouth."

"She told you? She promised me she wouldn't. What did she say exactly?" her voice was shaky.

"No, she didn't tell me. She told me you made her promise. But I do know that whatever you told her isn't good, and that we'll be mad when we find out. I just hope we won't be mad about you lying to us," PJ told her.

Heath felt Elizabeth sigh in relief, _whatever she is hiding from us is scaring her and that's why she won't tell us_, he thought. When they got to the arena, she got out of the car, grabbed her bags and booked it to their locker room without saying a word to any one. She locked herself in the bathroom that connect to the locker room and prepared herself for the text she knew she would get.

She changed into her ring gear and turned her I-pod on. She sat down on a bench and stared at her phone, then let her eyes close until it went off. When it finally did, she jumped and heard laughing. She looked up to see Ryck, Heath, and PJ watching her.

"Who ya texting, silly?" her brother asked her.

"No one important," she answered just as Stu walked into the locker room.

"Who is no one important?" he said.

"Whoever just texted Liz. She had her eyes closed and was listening to her I-pod when we walked in, then when her phone went off it made her jump about 4 feet off the ground," Heath told him as Elizabeth watched Stu for his reaction, if he was angry he didn't show it.

"I'm going to go get a water or something," Elizabeth said quickly as she walked towards the hallway, but someone grabbed her arm lightly.

"I'll go with you," Stu said, with a look in his eyes that dared her to argue.

"Keep her safe, Stu," she heard her brother whisper as they walked out.

She tried to walk fast but couldn't shake him. When they got to the cafeteria reserved for the superstars and divas she was relieved when she saw Barbie and walked over to her. Stu went to grab some waters for the rest of the guys and a snack. Elizabeth checked her phone and read the text he sent her, _if I find out you told her anything; you are in so much trouble. If she says anything, she will be too, and then you'll be in even more._

She gasped loudly as she read it and pulled Barbie to where she knew they couldn't be seen or heard, "You cannot say a word, to any one. If you do it'll make it worse." She spoke quickly and then walked to where Stu was getting drinks and food. When she looked back, Barbie wasn't there.

"You should get something to eat," he said in a low voice, "I don't think I've seen you eat all day."

"He is right," came a voice from behind them that scared her, "You haven't eaten all day long. You've been laying around with me." Heath winked at her making her giggle softly.

"Okay, I'll have a banana and a granola bar. Happy now, ya overprotective fools," she said trying to lighten up the subject, but they weren't smiling.

The three of them headed back to their locker room, Heath and Elizabeth holding hands, and just as they reached the door it opened. Barbie walked out, looked at Elizabeth for only a second before walking away.

"B?" Elizabeth asked with a look of concern on her face. Barbie turned around and just shook her head before walking away again. She sighed again and walked into the locker room, shutting the door behind her.

They were going over their script for the night when they heard a knock on the door. With a confused look on his face that matched the rest of them, PJ walked over and opened the door.

"Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?" they heard, and then Elizabeth squealed loudly. John Hennigan walked in the locker room as Elizabeth jumped up and hugged him. They'd been friends for a really long time and she was shocked to see him here on SmackDown.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, "Did you finally get switched to SmackDown?"  
>He chuckled softly, "Nope. I heard that you were off for a few weeks and then I heard you were coming back tonight. I haven't seen you in forever and I figured I'd stop by."<p>

"Ah! I know! We have got to catch up," she looked at the others in the room, "Are we good for now? Our match is in an hour. Can I have some friend time quick before I'm immersed in The Corre again?"

"Of course you can have some friend time, Bee," PJ answered, "Just be careful. John, you take care of my sister. And try to make her eat something please."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she walked out of the locker room pulling John behind her. They walked for a while, stopping every now and then as people welcomed her back. When they finally got to an empty part of the arena, they sat down on the floor and Elizabeth sighed loudly.

"What has been going on with you?" he asked, "I heard you were home for a while, but no one knew why. I even stopped by your apartment when I was doing an interview in Tampa but you didn't answer. I talked to Barbie and she told me that you weren't talking to any one and didn't know why. Why did PJ tell me to tell me to take care of you and make you eat?"

When she knew he was done with the interrogations, she took a deep breath, "I, uh, I had a run in with a couple guys and I needed to go home. Please, don't ask me about it because I don't want to explain it any more. PJ and Heath have been bugging me since I got back. I know you stopped by, and I'm sorry that I didn't answer. I just didn't want you to see me like that. I wasn't talk to any one because I needed some time to clear my head. PJ knew that I was okay, though, because I was talking to our parents. PJ told you to find me something to eat because I haven't been eating right for a while and he is scared. I can't tell you why he told you to take care of me without going into a huge explanation. I'm sorry, I know that we usually tell each other everything, but I can't tell you this. If I do, I'll be in a lot of trouble, I already am because I told someone and I'm afraid that she is in danger now too."

She finally and he realized she was crying. He put his arm around her and she turned her face into his chest. She cried for a while before he said anything.

"Shhh, it's gonna be alright Liz. You can tell me, I promise I wont tell anyone. You can trust me, Liz," he said it so simply that she wanted to believe him. Just then they heard footsteps walk up to them and John felt Elizabeth's muscles tense, as the footsteps got closer.

"Eliza, it's time to go to the ring," they heard a deep English accent. John thought he felt her shudder when they heard Stu talk, but then figured he'd imagined it.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later John?" she asked him, "I'll try to call you or text you tonight when we get back to the hotel. Maybe get lunch or something tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll be seeing you," he said as he walked away, leaving her with Stu in the empty hallway.

"You told him," Stu said and Elizabeth shook her head.

"No, I promise. I didn't tell him anything," she said in a scared voice.

He laughed, "They wont believe you any way." He started to walk away but turned and pushed her against the wall, "Oh, and don't think you're out of the clear yet. I know you told the Barbie. She won't look me in the eyes anymore. You realize you're going to pay for that right?"

He punched her ribs as she nodded making her fall to the floor in pain. She watched as he walked away before slowly picking herself up off the floor and making her way to the ring entrance.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

She was sitting in the locker room waiting for the guys to get ready when Barbie walked in and sat down next to her. They just sat there, holding hands for a while before Barbie asked if Elizabeth wanted to ride back to the hotel with her instead of the guys. She texted Heath where she was going so they wouldn't worry and left.

"I think he knows that you know," Elizabeth started when they were safely in the car, "Well, he thinks that you know."

"We need to tell PJ. He'll know what to do. Elizabeth, think about it-" Barbie said.

"No, Barbs. You don't get it. If we tell anyone, it'll get worse. It's already going to be bad for me because I told you. If you tell someone he'll hurt you too. So please, don't say anything. Can't you just forget that I said anything in the first place? Please, you can't say a word," Elizabeth said.

"If you don't tell someone soon, then I'm going to tell PJ and Heath. They need to know so they can protect you. He wont be able to hurt you if they know," Barbie told her.

"If I tell, he'll lose his job. And he will hurt me; they haven't been able to protect me so far. How can they protect me if they don't know when he is going to show up? I can protect myself. Barbie, I'm serious. Don't tell anyone. If anyone else finds out, it'll get so much worse for both of us," Elizabeth told her.

The rest of the drive was quiet and when they got to the hotel, Elizabeth went straight to the suite without saying anything to her friend. She closed the door in her room and sat down on the bed. She was trying to keep from crying when her phone rang.

"Where in the hell are you?" her brother yelled when she answered her phone.

"I'm sitting in my room at the hotel," she said.

"Why in the hell did you not tell someone? How did you get there?" he asked still yelling, he was obviously worried that something happened to her.

"Barbie came into the locker room and asked if I wanted a ride home because I was just sitting there waiting for you. So she took me home. I texted Heath before we left though. Have him check his phone," she told him quickly.

"You should have texted all of us. Heath, check you phone. She says she texted you and told you- yeah? All right, next time call us. I just thought-," he started to say.

"You just thought I was in trouble. I'm sorry. I'm going to take a shower. I'll see you when you get here," she said and hung up before he could respond.

She got in the shower and let herself cry. When she got out, she wrapped a towel around her body and looked for something to put on. She settled for a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. She dried her hair and cleaned up her mess in the bathroom before going to the kitchen to find something to make everyone for dinner. She was really hungry but didn't feel like eating out, and she knew the guys would be hungry too.

Ryck, Heath, PJ, and Stu walked in carrying Subway bags just as Elizabeth was getting out some pans to cook hamburger in. She sighed and put everything away before they saw what she'd been doing.

"Hey pretty girl," Heath said as he walked into her room, "Wait, where is she?"

She laughed and told them she was in the kitchen. "We got you a sandwich from Subway," PJ told her flatly, he was upset with her for not tell him where she was.

"Peej, I'm sorry. I figured Heath would check his phone. I didn't think I'd have to call up the National Guard every time I went some where without you knowing about it. You are too protective of me, you cannot save me from everything," she told him.

"You tell me that someone has beat you up before, some unnamed person who is still walking around on his own two feet because you won't tell me who it is, and you expect me to be okay with it," PJ said "Well guess what Elizabeth, I'm not okay with it. I can protect you from everything and from here on out I will be protecting you from everything. You are not allowed to leave this suite without one of us 4. You are not allowed to walk around backstage by yourself at any of the arenas. Got it? That means no clubbing, no swimming, no gym, and no laundry room. Yeah I know about the laundry room stuff, don't give me that look. This is how everything is going to happen from now on until you tell me who hurt you before."

"That is so unreasonable, PJ. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," she yelled back at him.

"No, obviously you can't take care of yourself. The last time you went out to a club, you got the shit beat out of you. The last time you were home alone, you starved yourself. That doesn't classify as taking care of yourself," he spit back at her, not thinking about what he was saying.

"I cannot believe you just said that to me," she told him quietly, "Keys, now. I want someone's keys. Either PJ's or Stu's. I don't care. If you don't give me them, I'll get Barbie's or someone else. Now."

Stu handed her his keys and they watched her run out of the kitchen to her own room, grabbing her purse, and out of the suite. PJ stood there, in the middle of the kitchen, too mad at himself to move. The door slammed and brought him out of his stupidity. He ran out of the suite and tried to catch up with her before she got to Stu's car but by the time he made it outside she was already pealing out of the parking lot.

She drove until she found an empty park. She got out and lay down in the grass. She couldn't believe PJ would throw that in her face. _He is right about every thing though, _she thought, _this mess I'm in, it's my fault._ She looked at the sky and watched as the sun went down and the moon came up. She looked at the stars for a long time before getting back in Stu's car and driving back to the hotel.

PJ was waiting for her in the parking lot when she got back but she ignored him until they got to the suite they shared with the rest of The Corre. She walked into her room and slammed the door in his face. She heard him sigh and knock on the door, so she opened it and slammed it again. She knew she was being childish but she didn't care at that moment.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier, Bee. I wasn't thinking about what I was saying and I just slipped out. I know you can take care of yourself. I'm just worried about you. I don't want to see you hurting anymore," PJ said through the door.

"The things you say when you aren't thinking about it are the things you mean the most," she replied to him simply, it was a saying their mother used to tell them when they were growing up and used they "I wasn't thinking" excuse.

She opened the door and walked to the bed without saying anything else. She heard PJ walk in and shut the door then felt him sit on the bed next to her.

"This isn't the time to use mom's psychology on me. I truly didn't mean to say what I did. Well, honestly I only meant half of it," PJ told her, "I didn't mean the part about the night you went out to the club. I know that wasn't your fault and I am so sorry that I said what I did about it. But I did mean the part about starving yourself. You have control over what you tell yourself and what you eat. I'm sorry, Bee. Can you forgive me?"

She nodded and was silent for a few minutes thinking of what to say to him.

"You can't protect me from everything or everyone. You can't beat up every guy just because they break my heart like you did when I was in 8th grade and that boy told me he didn't like me. You can't yell at my friends for stabbing me in the back like you did when I was in 11th grade when my best friend stole my boyfriend from me. You can't tell me whom I can and cannot talk to. You can't tell me I'm not allowed to go to a club alone. You can't do this because I'm not a little kid any more. I'm 25 years old. I know the things I do to myself I shouldn't do, but sometimes I can't stop. You wouldn't understand, and I don't expect you to. There are some things that I just cannot tell you, I wish I could, but I can't. So please, stop treating me like a child. I know you don't want me to get hurt or hurt myself, but there are some things, some people you can't protect me from. That's just life."

"You're right," he said, "I'm sorry, I over reacted earlier. I just, I want you to be happy and I want to keep you safe. I'll try to be more understanding and less father-like."

"Okay, can we please not turn this into a sob fest?" she asked with a smile on her face, "It is after all Family Movie Night. Do you think the other guys would be up for a movie too?"

"Yes! Family Movie Night! I don't know, let's go ask them," he said and they went out to the living room of the hotel suite, "Do you guys think you're up for a movie with us? It's Family Movie Night and since you guys are practically our family, we were wondering if you'd like to watch a movie with us."

"Seriously?" Heath asked, "I've been wanting to be a part of Family Movie Night for two whole years. Hell yeah I'm up for it, naw mean!"

Everybody laughed and Elizabeth went to pick a movie from Heath's hotel room. When she walked back to the living room she saw that they guys had already started popcorn and gotten blankets and pillows, just in case they all fell asleep. It was a good thing too, because about halfway into the movie they all did.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

_PJ, we need to talk. _

He was confused by the text he'd just gotten from Barbie. When someone tells you they need to talk, it usually isn't anything good.

_Alright, when can I see you? Do you wanna come to the suite? _ He responded. He was just waking up and he could hear the others start to stir around him. He was happy that Elizabeth was better, happy that she'd invited the rest of the guys into their Family Movie Night tradition. He had a feeling that things were looking up for her and that she would be good.

_No. Can you just come here. It's really important but I can't talk to you about it infront of the guys and Bee, _she told him back. He got up and left a note for the others, then walked to Barbies room.

"What's up, love? Did I ever tell you that you are absolutely beautiful in the morning?" he said when she answered her door.

"I'm not exactly sure how to say this without you or Bee getting hurt. I want to tell you what she told me because I'm worried about her," she said slowly.

He nodded, encouraging her to go on. "I'm sorry that I have to be the one to tell you this, because I know you trust him. It was Stu. He is the one who hurt her. I'm sorry I didn't tell you when she told me. I promised her I wouldn't but-"

"Stop. I have to go. I'll talk to you later," PJ said interrupting her and he stormed back to the suite he shared with The Corre.

He opened the door and slammed it loudly, not caring who was still sleeping.

"Where is she?" he demanded, glaring at Heath and Stu until they pointed to her bedroom. He walked in without knocking and yelled, "Are you kidding me? He is like family. Why would you try to blame him? It was his friend, you told us it was his friend. What the hell are you thinking? Why would you tell Barbie that Stu was the one who hurt you at that club when you know it was? You know that Stu would never harm you in anyway. Why would you lie to her and make her think you weren't safe around him?"

Elizabeth just stood there completely stunned. She didn't know what to say or think. _Did she seriously tell him? Does he really not believe me? Why would he think I was lying,_ she thought to herself. Nothing was making any sense to her. She was staring at her brother who was giving her a death glare and she couldn't speak to defend herself, her mouth was dry.

"I- I- I- I-," she tried, and then out of no where, he slapped her, hard on the side of her face.

She put her hand to her cheek, holding it tightly trying to make it stop stinging. She looked at her brother with tears in her eyes as he turned around and walked out of her room, slamming the door shut behind him. She stood in the same spot for what felt like an hour, unable to move. She was trying to figure out what had just happened, but couldn't make sense of anything.

"What was that?" Heath asked PJ when he slammed Elizabeth's door shut.

"She lied to Barbie about what happened that night at the club. She told her that Stu attacked her, but you said that Stu was in your room and he told you that she was still at the club when he got back. Lying is unacceptable, in my book, and it is unforgivable when you are telling people that someone attacked you when they didn't," PJ told him simply.

"Maybe I should go talk to her?" Stu asked them, "I've wanted to talk to her about what happened since she got back, but I wasn't sure what to say to her. This might be the opening that I need."

They agreed and he walked over to Elizabeth's room, knocking on the door before he entered and shut it behind him.

"I don't want to talk to you guys right now, PJ. Not after what you just did," she said, she was lying in her bed facing the window.

"They don't want to talk to you either. Not after you told the barbiedoll _lies_ about me," stu said quietly, making her jump up off the bed. He watched as she looked around for some kind of escape. "You know, it's really not polite to walk around telling _lies_ about innocent people."

"Stu, please stop," she whispered.

"Now, that's the funny thing. I am the only one who can get you out of the mess you put yourself in. Did you realize that?" he said with a smirk, "I would be nice to me if I were you. I now decide if they are mad at you or not. It's my choice. Your relationship with your brother and Heath lie in my hands."

"I will do anything. I swear. Please, don't make them hate me," she begged him.

"Fine, I accept your apology for _lying_ to the doll," he told her as he turned and walked out of her room and announced to PJ and Heath, "I think it was just a huge misunderstanding, on every body's part. Elizabeth told Barbie that my friend attacked her, Barbie must have just assumed that I was a part of it. It wasn't intentional I assure you. I know that Elizabeth would willingly cause any harm to my career. We've talked about it, and all is forgiven. I'm truly sorry about what my friend did. She understands that I had nothing to do with it."

"I'm sorry," they heard her say softly, none of them had realized she'd joined them. She was looking at her feet when she heard Heath gasp loudly.

"What the hell happened to your face?" Heath asked her.

"I, uh, I don't know," she responded.

"That's my fault," PJ admitted, "I was mad when I thought she had tried to get Stu fired for when we know he'd never hurt her. I wasn't thinking, again, and my anger was controlling my actions. I slapped her. Bee, I'm sorry."

She couldn't say anything, so she just nodded and looked down at her feet. "I think I'm going to go for a walk," she told them quietly, "I'm really sorry about all of this."

She grabbed her phone and her room key from her purse and headed down to the laundry room. She needed to be alone and calm. It was the only place she could clear her head because she knew no one would bother her. She was wrong, and she realized that as soon as she opened the door and say Barbie.

As soon as she saw Barbie was in there, Elizabeth turned around and walked out. She didn't expect Barbie to follow her but she did.

"Elizabeth, stop," she heard her call out to her. Barbie caught up to her and turned her around so that they were face to face, "Oh my God. Who hit you? Was it Stu? "

"No, it was Stu," Elizabeth told her trying to walk away, "Barbara, stop it. I don't want to talk to you. I can't trust you and I don't want to be around you. My brother hates me right now. He thinks I lied to you. He thinks I was just angry at Stu for what his friend did, so I was trying to ruin his career. He hit me because he thought I was trying to get back at Stu. Do you not get it? I asked you not to tell anyone. I knew they wouldn't believe me. You told them, you promised me you wouldn't, but you did anyway. You are a terrible friend. Because of you, I had to promise would do anything he wanted me too. He was the only one who could tell PJ and Heath that it was a mistake and make them believe it. So thank you, for making my brother and my boyfriend not believe anything I say."

She walked away, going back to the suite, and packed for the next city. Stu told the others that Elizabeth was going to ride with him so that she could feel safer around him. They all thought it was a good idea, but Elizabeth knew there was some hidden reason. He wanted her all alone, all to himself.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

The long car ride started out silent. No music, no talking, nothing. She was scared and he loved it. It proved that he was still in control. She could feel him look over at her every now and then and it made her extremely uncomfortable. He casually put his hand on her thigh, causing her to shudder. He smirked to himself.

"I have a new favorite song," he told her breaking the silence, "Do you want to hear it?"

When she didn't answer he turned on the CD player in his rental. The one song he knew would give her flashbacks to that night after the club played as loud as the car system would allow it.

"Yeah, uh huh. You know what it is. Black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow," he sang along with the song, laughing as she tried to reach to turn it off.

He held her tightly against the seat with one hand while the other was on the steering wheel. He watched as the tears fell down her face, seeing the pain in her eyes. He could tell she was reliving what happened that night, which is what he wanted. He wanted her to feel pain; she had almost ruined his career today. When he was content with how much she had suffered, he turned it off and put his hand back on her thigh.

"Now, that was a good song, don't you agree?" he laughed at her.

"Answer me, damn it!" he yelled at her when she didn't say anything, making her jump.

"No," she said weakly.

"No, what? No, you don't agree? Or, no, you aren't going to answer me?" he asked.

"No, I don't agree," her voice was shaky.

"Well, then. Maybe we should just listen to it until you like it," he smirked, reaching to turn it back on.

"No, please don't," she cried, "Please. I'm sorry that Barbie told PJ. He didn't believe it like you said. You won, Stu. You won."

She was completely defeated. She was emotionally and physically exhausted. She put herself through hell when she was on her own in Tampa, and now she was feeling the effects of it. She tried to think of the last time she ate anything; it was that banana and granola bar at the arena last night. She hadn't gotten a chance to eat her sandwich and she didn't eat anything for breakfast.

"Do you think we could stop to get something to eat?" she whispered.

"You want something to eat?" he scoffed, "Why should I stop for anything for you? You almost ruined my career. You honestly think that I would do something nice for you. I already did, remember? I told Paul and Heath that it was just a misunderstanding."

She looked down at her lap. She didn't feel hungry, but that was how it worked. Her brain tricked her into thinking she was never hungry when in reality she hadn't eaten for days. She wasn't paying attention when she felt the car slowing down. When she looked up, Elizabeth realized that they were getting off the highway.

"I wouldn't want them to get suspicious of me," Stu told her, when he saw her look of surprise, "Plus, this gives us time to be alone. They passed us a while go, so they wont be stopping here with us."

"Stu, can you please not do this? At least not here, not right now. Please?" she said in a panicked tone.

"Your begging isn't going to get you out of anything. You should know this by now," he told her, "I'm going to call the boys and tell them not to book us a suite. I think we all need our own separate rooms at this hotel. I'm also sure that PJ will agree with me when I say I think you and Heath need some time away from each other. He doesn't want his best friend to get sucked into his sister's lying ways."

He found a fast food restaurant and pulled through the drive through. He ordered something for both of them without asking Elizabeth what she wanted. He was planning something, she could tell by the look in his eyes. It scared her and kept her silent for the rest of the drive. She didn't say anything when he pushed his hand higher up on her thigh, she just gave a shudder that could have shaken the car.

She'd gotten all settled in her room and was lying on her bed, hoping to finally sleep peacefully. It was getting late and she hadn't allowed herself to sleep on the way here because she was worried about what Stu would do to her. She'd received a few text messages from Barbie but decided to ignore them. Heath was driving, so she knew he wouldn't text her, and PJ was still mad at her. She crawled under the blankets and had just gotten comfortable when she heard a knock on her door. It was then followed by banging, then she was sure whoever was out there was going to break it down if she didn't answer. When she opened the door, she immediately regretted it.

"Well, let's take our time opening the door," he said sarcastically. She tried to shut the door but he was stronger than her and forced it open. He shut it behind him and backed her against the wall. Putting his arms on either side of her head against the wall, he took out all her escape routes. She instantly knew what was going to happen to her.

"What do you need, Stu?" she managed to ask, "I was getting ready to go to bed."

"I don't care what you were getting ready to do," he told her coldly, "Right now you are going to do me."

He put his mouth to hers and kissed her softly before she turned her head.

"Don't forget your promise to me this morning, love. I told the two morons it was a mistake. You would do anything. Right now, I want you to kiss me, and I want you to mean it."

Elizabeth looked up at him. She knew that if she didn't kiss him, he would hurt her. She also knew that if she did, she was allowing him to control her. She cleared her mind of all thoughts. She was so sick of getting hit and thrown around. _The only way to make it stop is giving in to him,_ she thought.

He watched as she took a deep breath, put her hands around his neck, and pulled herself up to his face. The kiss was intense, burning with the pent up frustration she'd been feeling since he started hurting her. Stu felt her slip her tongue in his mouth and moaned against it. He let his ands wander her body, pulling at her shirt. He almost had it off when they heard a knock at the door. She pulled away from him immediately, hoping the distraction would giver her time to create space between them.

"Don't answer it," he groaned against her neck as he caught her. Her back was against his chest and his arms were holding her waist tightly. They heard a knock again, this time harder and more persistent. Whoever was outside wanted to get in.

"Liz open up!" yelled Heath. When she heard his voice, guilt immediately filled her heart. She felt Stu release his grip on her. She ran to the door and opened it as fast as she could.

"You alright in there?" he asked as he walked in.

"Oh, yeah. We were just, um, watching a movie. You slow pokes took too long getting here and we got bored," she told him jokingly.

"Uh, Liz?" he asked, "The TV isn't on."

She heard Stu stifle a laugh as she tried to recover, "Well, yeah. I thought I heard a knock but wasn't sure so I turned the TV off and then you knocked again."

"Alright. Uh, I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk with me. I need some catch up time with my girl," he said, then looking over her shoulder, "That alright with you big man?"

Elizabeth looked at Stu, hoping he'd say yes but not really expecting him too.

"Yeah, that's fine," he told Heath, much to her surprise, "We can finish our conversation later."

He gave her a sly smile as he stood up from the bed and walked out. Elizabeth grabbed her room key and walked out of the hotel with Heath, hand in hand.

They'd been walking in the parking lot for about 10 minutes before Heath broke the silence.

"I don't want you around Stu by yourself anymore," he told her.

She wasn't sure if she heard him right and her surprise must have shown on her face.

"You believe what Barbie told PJ?" she asked him slowly, and he nodded.

"Liz, how could I not?" he said, "You've been acting weird for months. You can barely look me in the eyes, even when we're alone. It gets worse when you are alone with him. Al the bruises? They couldn't have been from your matches. I pay attention; you had bruises in places you weren't even touched. Tell me if he is hurting you, I can help you."

"Heath, please don't do this," she said quietly, "I lost my best friend and my brother today. You'll lose him too. He'll think I just talked you into it. I can't let you-"

"So its true," he said, "Damn it Liz! How long has this been going on?"

"Since he got switched from Raw to Smackdown," she admitted, realizing she couldn't lie to him anymore.

"Jesus! Why didn't you tell us?" he shouted.

"Did you not see how PJ reacted today? Stu is practically family. I knew he'd never believe me, and so did Stu. I knew he'd say that Stu wouldn't hurt me. But he's wrong because Stu did hurt me," she told him trying not to cry.

"Okay, I can understand you not telling your brother. But why not me? Do you not trust me?" he asked trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

"I- I felt like I was cheating on you," she said quietly, looking down, "I tried to fight him off, I swear to you I did. But the more I fought, the harder he hit. I stopped fighting because I didn't want him to push me around anymore, I didn't want to get hit anymore. I'm sorry, Heath. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry, pretty girl," he told her, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight, "You didn't do anything wrong. Please don't blame yourself, this is not your fault."

"Actually, it kind of is. And it is some what your fault too," a voice behind them chuckled.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

"Text PJ, tell him to get out here now," Heath whispered, handing Elizabeth his phone before turning around to face Stu.

"What do you want, Stu?" Heath asked.

"I want to know what she is telling you. You realize that she is probably lying, right? If I were you, I'd dump the crazy bitch. If she could lie about someone who is practically family, think of all the things she will do to you when things get bad between the two of you," Stu answered with a smirk.

"My relationship with her is none of your concern, Bennett," he told him, "Furthermore, I don't appreciate you calling her a crazy bitch. What has she ever done to you?"

"Wow, you are pretty defensive. I honestly wouldn't trust her if I were you. She's been lying to you and Paul for months now. Did she tell you that she kissed me just now? Yeah, when we were in her hotel room. We weren't really watching a movie, she was kissing me," Stu said.

"Heath, I promised him this morning that I would do anything if he could make you and PJ not hate me. He told me that he wanted me to kiss him. I'm sorry. I just knew that it was going to happen anyway, whether forced or not, and I didn't want to get hit or thrown around anymore. Please don't be angry, please?" she whispered.

"Really? What else has she been lying to us about? Why don't you try to explain all of the bruises that she's been lying about for the past few months?" Heath yelled.

"Oh, you mean the bruises on her hips?" he laughed, "Yeah, those are from me. I like it rough, really rough. She's a tough cookie though, she likes to put up a fight, which honestly only turns me on more. The bruises on her ribs, I gave her those ones too. The one she has now is the consequence of her telling the Barbie doll what my friend and I did to her."

"What the hell is going on?" PJ shouted, making the three of them turn. Elizabeth saw him walking towards them, with Barbie at his side. When Barbie saw Elizabeth she ran to her, grabbing her in a hug.

"Miller and I were just discussing your sister," Stu told him, "We were taking notes on how good she was in bed. It's quite interesting actually. He apparently didn't know the things that make her tick the most. For one, she likes it when you demand things from her."

"You are sick, Bennett. I heard the whole thing," PJ said, "Now, if you don't pack your bags and quit right now, I'm going to Mr. McMahon and having you fired. Then I'm making Elizabeth file a lawsuit against you. If you're lucky, maybe they'll let you go back to England for your jail time."

"Do you honestly think you can send me away? Are you forgetting that I own all three of you? If you think for one second that anyone else will believe the four of you, you are sadly mistaken. This isn't over until I say it is over, unless you want to be fired. Now, Elizabeth we need to finish that conversation we started earlier. Get over here now," Stu said confidently.

She shook her head no and held tighter to Barbie. Heath and PJ both stood in front of the girls protectively; they were determined to keep him away. He laughed and watched them try to protect her, knowing what would make her go to him.

"Do I need to remind you that I hold their contracts? If you don't come here, I will fire them. That will then leave you and the doll unprotected," he smirked, watching the expression on her face change.

"Don't listen to him, Liz. I don't care if he fires me, you aren't going any where near him," Heath said, and PJ nodded in agreement. Elizabeth could see that Stu wasn't joking; she knew his threats were true and she couldn't stand to put the people she loved in danger. If she didn't listen to him, her brother and her boyfriend were out of a job. If she didn't listen to him, her and Barbie were going to get hurt. She knew what she had to do and she loosened her grip on her friend, apologizing to her with her eyes.

"I can't let him take away your dreams. I can't let him hurt you, knowing I could have stopped it," she told them, "I just, can't."

"Elizabeth, think about what you're doing," PJ said, grabbing her arm to stop her from walking to Stu.

"I have. I'm protecting you. You had a chance to stop this, P. You had your chance to protect me. This could be over right now; this conversation didn't have to happen. But you chose him over your own family. I'm not you; I can't chose myself over the people I love. I'm doing for you what you couldn't do for me," she spat at him, shaking free of his grasp.

He knew she was right. The fact that she was walking away from him, walking to a man who would hurt her, was entirely his fault.

"Liz, please," she heard Heath call out to her, "Don't do this to yourself. Please don't put yourself in this situation for us."

She ignored him and kept walking. She knew that if she looked back she would turn back to them; she would go back to them. If she went back, she would be in even more trouble; they all would. Heath, PJ, and Barbie watched as Stu grabbed her roughly around her waist and pulled her to him. He towered over her 5 foot 7 inch frame that was made smaller by his intimidation. Stu smirked at them as he turned her around and walked back to the hotel with her.

"Why didn't you believe me when I told you? Why, PJ?" Barbie demanded, "Why would you think she would lie about something like that? You know your sister better than anyone. You promised to protect her. Look what you did, you threw her into the arms of the one person who has been hurting her."

"She chose to go to him," PJ said, it was a weak defense but it was all he could get out.

"PJ don't be an ass. You know that she went to him to protect us, to protect you and your damn career, to protect me and mine, to protect Barbie. Nothing we said would have stopped her when Stu threatened us and you know that," Heath told him.

"My parents are going to kill me," PJ whispered to himself.

"Are you kidding me? Are you seriously worried about yourself right now? Your sister is in there, with a man who is hurting her, for you. So that you and your job are safe and all you are worried about is what your parents are going to think," Heath yelled at him, "I can't believe I once called you my best friend."

"Stop fighting. Please," Barbie begged, "You two bickering at each other isn't going to get her back to us. It's going to make things worse. We need to stick together, set up a game plan, and figure out where to go from here. PJ, I agree with Heath though. Step up to the plate and admit that you were wrong. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and focus on what the real problem is. Elizabeth is in danger, we need to save her."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

It had been three weeks since Elizabeth walked away from Heath, Barbie, and PJ. She saw them 12 times, all at house shows or for the SmackDown tapings. Stu barely let her out of the hotel room and they couldn't let anyone know that The Corre was having problems. When they all were given a 4-day weekend, Stu took Elizabeth to his condo in Tampa.

"Stu, can I go for a run and then come back and take a shower?" she asked him. They'd gotten to his condo two hours ago and she was bored.

"It depends on where you are planning on running. If you're thinking about going around your own apartment, then the answer is no," he told her.

"I know, Stu. I was going to run around here. I'll only be gone about an hour," she said, as she tied up her shoes and walked to the door.

She was trying to walk when her feet were swept out from under her, causing her to fall face first onto the hardwood floor in Stu's entryway. He pulled her up by the back of her neck and shoved her face first into the door. When he turned her around, she could see the anger in his eyes.

"Are you trying to get smart with me?" he asked, "I didn't give you permission to leave yet, and you haven't given me my kiss goodbye."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to. I-" she started but he interrupted her.

"You nothing. Give me a kiss and get out of my sight. If you aren't back here in one hour, you're in trouble. Got it? Fantastic," he told her as she nodded and kissed him, "Oh, and I will be checking the call log on your phone when you get back."

She walked out and closed the door behind her. Her head was starting to hurt and she could feel tears start to form in her eyes. _Run,_ she told herself; _everything will be better when you run._ She got out in the warm air and started running, keeping a careful watch on the time, she didn't want to think of what would happen if she were late. She ran for 30 minutes away from Stu's condo before turning around and heading back. Tampa was a large city and the last thing on her mind was running into one of her friends.

"Elizabeth? Is that you?" she heard a voice behind her say. She stopped against her own good judgment and when she turned around she saw John Hennigan.

"Johnny, hey!" she said, "I'm sorry, I can't really stop to talk right now. I have to get back."

"Back to where? You're apartment is the other way, silly," he said.

"Um, I'm not staying at my apartment right now. It's, uh, under construction," she lied, "I'm staying with a friend."

"Under construction? Are you sure? I was just over there and it didn't look like it was under construction. What friend are you staying-"

"Look, John. I'd love to stay and talk with you, but I really can't. I'm sorry. Maybe I'll see you when we get back to work?" she said interrupting him.

"How about I run with you? You don't need to talk or anything if you don't want," he suggested.

She knew she shouldn't, but she really missed the outside world. They ran together in silence until they reached Stu's condo.

"Well, here's my stop," she said, walking to the door.

"Wait, isn't this where Stu lives?" he asked in a shocked voice.

"Uh, yeah," she told him quietly, "Thanks for the run John. It was really good seeing you again. I've got to go but I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Why are you staying here?" he asked, still shocked, "Aren't you and Heath together?"

"Um, I don't really know what Heath and I are right now. But like I said, I need to get inside," she tried to walk away again but he caught her arm.

"Elizabeth, talk to me. What is going on with you?" he said with a worried look on his face.

"John, I can't talk right now. I'm going to be late, so please let go," she said it like she was afraid to be late and her fear made him let go, "I'm sorry. I hope we can talk soon."

He watched her disappear into the British man's condo. He had no idea what in the world was going on anymore. The only thing he could think of was calling PJ.

When Elizabeth got inside, Stu wasn't sitting on the couch anymore. She looked in the kitchen, but he wasn't there either. She figured that he probably went to the store or something, so she decided to hop in the shower. She went to the guest room and got in. The water was cool and it felt good as she washed away the sweat from her run. She was standing there, just enjoying the feeling of being clean when the water turned hot, too hot. She jumped back and opened her eyes.

"What the hell!" she yelled.

"You've been in there too long. Get out now," Stu told her. She could tell that something was wrong, but she didn't know exactly what it was.

"I'm sorry. I got back and I couldn't find you. I just thought you went to the store or something, so I got in the shower. Before I left, I asked if I could take a shower," she explained to him.

"I saw you," he told her.

"You saw me? Saw me where?" she asked.

"Don't play stupid with me, girl," he shouted, "I saw you running with John. I know he asked you why you were staying here. What did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him anything!" she shouted back, "He saw me when I was running back. I told him I couldn't stop to talk, but he insisted he run with me, even if we didn't talk. When we got here he asked if it was your place and I told him yes. He asked if Heath and I broke up. Then he asked why I was staying here. I told him that my apartment was under construction. He seemed to believe me and I came inside."

"Don't you dare raise your voice to me in my own house," he growled at her and watched as she tried to step back, ending up in the tub.

He grabbed her wet hair and pulled her up to her feet. When he let her go she made a run for it, but didn't get very far. He tackled her onto the bed in his guest room and held her hands above her head while straddling her. He glared into her eyes and he could see the fear.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that again. Don't you ever run from me again," he told her, "You don't leave until I say you leave. You don't move until I say you move."

He took off the towel she had wrapped around her body and threw it to the floor. He got off the bed and watched as she tried to cover herself up.

"Did I tell you to move?" he sneered, "No, I didn't. You will stay there, with your arms above your head, until I tell you to stop. Oh, and you are not allowed to fall asleep."

She wasn't sure how long she was lying there. Her eyes kept rolling shut but she would snap them back open. The only thing that kept her awake was her thoughts. She thought about the first time she met Heath, their first date, their first kiss, that time he took her to meet his family, the first time they feel asleep in the hotel room and PJ walked in on them, and the last time she talked to him. She thought about Barbie and that time they officially met in the laundry room, all of the dance parties they had between the two of them, the times they shopped together buying ridiculous things, and all the secrets they shared. When Elizabeth started thinking about her brother, she cried. He had always been there when she looked back. He was five years older, but they were best friends. She thought about the time he told her that she was adopted because she had blue eyes when him and their parents had brown. She thought about the time he threw her in the pool with all of her clothes on at her 16th birthday party. She thought about when they both received the phone call from the WWE asking them to sign developmental contracts. She thought about everything that happened from the time they stepped off the plane from Cape Town to the last time they had a conversation, three weeks before.

"_Elizabeth, think about what you're doing," he had said._

"_I have. I'm protecting you. You had a chance to stop this, P. You had your chance to protect me. This could be over right now; this conversation didn't have to happen. But you chose him over your own family. I'm not you; I can't chose myself over the people I love. I'm doing for you what you couldn't do for me," she shouted at him._

She'd been angry with him, she still was slightly angry. She wished with all of her heart that she could take back what she said. The look in his eyes when she said it made her feel guilty immediately.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when the light flicked on, nearly blinding her.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

"Get up. You need to get ready. I have some friends coming over, so I want you to wear something sexy and short," he told her, "Oh, and do your make up so that your eyes look magnificently blue."

Stu walked out before she could even say anything. She sat up and stared at the back of the doorway. She didn't want to entertain his friends tonight. She wanted to sleep, or see Heath, or see her brother. She wanted to talk to her friends or go shopping with Barbie. She wanted say what she wanted and not have to worry about who hears her. She wanted to stop walking on eggshells for fear of getting hit. She wanted it all to stop. Until she remembered why she was doing this, why she was even here in the first place. She couldn't put herself first, not when the three people she loved most are at risk of getting hurt and losing everything they've worked so hard for.

She searched through her suitcase and found a thigh length strapless dress. It was silver and made her blue eyes pop. She curled her long brown hair and did her make up. She hoped that she wasn't too dressy for this get together of Stu's, but she knew he would like it.

He didn't hear her walk down the stairs, so when she spoke it startled him.

"What do you think?" she asked shyly.

"Wow," was all he could manage. She smiled at the compliment before asking what she could do to help him set up. He knew she was only offering to keep herself out of trouble, but with what she was wearing, he couldn't help but imagine what life would be like if she was his wife.

"Stu? Hello, earth to Stu," she said laughing, bringing him out of his imagination, "Stu? Is there anything you want me to do?"

"No. They'll be here in a few minutes. How about you try opening the door when they get here. Do you think you can do that?" he said coldly. _And suddenly, he's back to being Wade Barrett outside of the ring,_ she thought.

Elizabeth was standing by the front door waiting for Stu's friends to arrive. She got lost in her own mind again, thinking about her brother, Heath, and Barbie. She didn't even hear the doorbell at first; it was the knocking that brought her back to reality. She opened the door and squealed.

"Drew, Taryn! Oh my goodness, it is so great to see you guys!" she shouted.

"Elizabeth, your voice," she heard Stu yell from the kitchen.

"Oh, sorry guys. He didn't tell me who was coming. I didn't mean to yell," she said quietly this time.

"Don't be sorry, Liz," Drew told her, pulling her into a hug, "It has been forever since we've talked. I mean we work on the same show and we barely ever talk. Are you avoiding me?"

"No, I'm not avoiding you. I've just been really busy lately. I'm sorry," she said trying to keep her voice above a whisper, leading them into the kitchen.

"Liz, stop apologizing," Drew's wife, Taryn told her, "We don't work on the same show so I miss you tons more than Drew does. We have got tons to catch up on! Like why you are here with Stu looking so gorgeous instead of with Heath?"

Elizabeth stopped dead in her tracks and she could see Stu looking at her, expecting her to answer. She couldn't say anything; she couldn't make her mouth move. She looked at him and shook her head slightly.

"Heath and Paul had prior engagements this evening. Elizabeth didn't have anything to do so I invited her to hang out. We have so much fun being a couple in the ring, why not see how it is out of the ring," he said with a chuckle.

"From what I hear, you guys have been seeing how fun it is outside of the ring for a few weeks now. Is there some kind of trouble in paradise?" Drew asked.

"Um, no. No trouble. Stu and I have gotten into this movie kick lately, especially when our insomnia kicks in. We stay up all night long watching old movies. The scary ones are the best to watch because the special effects are so terrible compared to todays. It's a wonder how anyone could have gotten scared from them," the lie was so easy, so quick. Stu just looked at her in awe, how could you make something like that up on the spot?

"Okay, enough interrogations. Why don't we order some pizza and break out the beer?" Taryn said, "I'm really hungry and a beer just sounds good."

They all laughed and agreed. Elizabeth called for the pizza while Stu handed everyone a bottle. Before she realized it, Taryn was pulling her outside.

"Come on! We need some girl time. Let them have their guy time to talk about have fabulous you look in the dress and we'll gossip," Taryn told her. Elizabeth looked at Stu, who gave her a slight nod, before walking out to the poolside deck. They turned some music on and sat on the lounge chairs next to the pool.

"So, you and Stu?" Taryn asked her.

"There's nothing there. Like he said, I had nothing to do tonight so he offered for me to hang out here," Elizabeth answered trying to ignore Taryn's insinuation.

"Nothing? That's why you are dressed up like you're going out to the club or something. Actually that's a great idea!" Taryn said with excitement in her voice, "We should totally go clubbing tonight."

"I don't know T," Elizabeth responded, "How are you and Drew doing? I haven't seen you in forever. You should come on the road with him for a month or something, it would give us time to hang out."

"Drew and I are good. We have our ups and downs like any normal couple but at the end of the day we love each other and are willing to work out our differences. I would love to go on the road with you. I'll have to take some time off work first, but that is a great idea!" Taryn went off on a rant about the last time she was on the road while Elizabeth only half listened.

"Liz, let's dance. You don't want to go to a club, fine. We can dance here," Taryn told her, bringing her out of her fog. Elizabeth stood up and turned the music up louder.

When the guys heard the music, they walked outside to see both girls completely lost in the song. They looked free the way they were dancing. Drew and Stu looked at each other and decided to join them. Elizabeth tensed up for a second when Stu grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into him, but she stopped when she saw that the look in his eyes was kind. She let herself get completely lost in his dark green eyes. They were mesmerizing to her for some reason but couldn't quite figure out why. The sound of the doorbell broke her out of her trance and they stopped dancing.

"I- uh, I should go get that," she stammered.

"The money is on the counter in the kitchen, love," Stu told her as she walked inside.

"Love? Stu Bennett, if I didn't know any better I would say you were falling for this girl," Taryn joked, "You do know she is with Heath, right?"

"T, trust me when I say I'm not falling for her. We are friends, I've known her for 8 years," Stu rolled his eyes.

"Stu, I saw the way you were watching her inside. Then the way you talked to her when she was walking in. You totally like her," Taryn said.

"No, I don't," he told her, getting angry.

"Okay, while you two duke it out over this, I'm going inside to get some plates and another round of beers," Drew said, laughing as he walked inside.

When he got to the kitchen he was shocked to find Elizabeth leaning against the sink crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, she jumped as he spoke and wiped at her face.

"Oh, nothing. I'm fine. PJ and I had a fight earlier and I guess I'm still upset about it," she told him, "No big deal, I promise. We're eating out there, I'm guessing."

Drew nodded and watched her grab the plates and beers as he grabbed the pizza and followed her outside. She sat the plates down and handed everyone a beer before sitting down in a chair across from the rest of them. _Get a hold of yourself,_ she thought, _he isn't the same person you met 8 years ago._ The rest of the night was full of conversation and laughing. It was late when Drew and Taryn got up to leave.

"It was great seeing you guys," Elizabeth told them as her and Stu walked them to the door, "We should hang out again soon. And Taryn get your butt back on the road with us!"

They all laughed as Drew gave her a hug. When she stepped back Stu put his arm around her, pulling her close to his side. She wanted to pull away but knew it would look suspicious.

"Thank you for coming tonight. We'll talk to you later," Stu said as Drew and Taryn walked out, closing the door behind them.

Elizabeth started to walk away but he only pulled her closer. She looked up at him as he locked the door and pulled her into the kitchen. Her breathing was starting to get heavy and he put a smile on his face. He picked her up and set her down on the counter.

"You look amazing tonight," he said in a husky voice.

"Thank you," she replied quietly.

She was scared and he could tell. He moved from her and she hopped of the counter, walking away from him. She didn't walk fast enough though because he caught her arm and pulled her into him so that her back was against his chest. He started planting kisses on her shoulders and neck. Every time his lips touched her, he could feel the goose bumps emerge. He knew that something happened when they were dancing and right now he was turning her on.

"Let's dance," he whispered in her ear.

Stu grabbed her hips firmly and started grinding against her. At first she was unwilling to follow but his grip tightened until she grinded back against him. She could feel him start to get hard against her

"Stu, please stop," she said softly as she stopped moving. He pushed her down onto the floor angrily and she hit it hard. When she turned around to face him she could see the anger had come back to his eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

"I thought we'd gotten past the whole you telling me to stop phase," Stu said, "You were quite willing to dance with me earlier. Why not now?"

"I'm tired. I just want to go to bed," she said.

"I don't care what you want. I wanted to dance but you told me to stop. So now, I don't think going to bed is an option for you," he smirked.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. He lifted her up and put her back on the counter, spreading her legs and settling in between them so that he was leaning against the counter. He wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Now, let's try this again," he told her, "You look amazing tonight."

"Thank you," she whispered.

He started kissing her shoulders again before making his way up her neck and across her jaw, finally pressing his lips against hers. He rubbed his hands on the outside of her thighs, slowly pushing her dress up. He intensified the kiss when he felt her legs tighten around him. Her lips opened slightly, inviting him in and he took full advantage of it. Their tongues fought for dominance and he let her take over for a minute before forcing her into submission. He felt her hands start unbuttoning his shirt and he gasped, breaking the kiss. She had a smile on her face and her eyes were full of lust. When she slid his shirt off his muscular shoulders, she grabbed him by the neck and pulled him into a kiss.

Her hands roamed his chest and his abs, then found their way to his shoulders and back. He moaned at her touch and took her dress off, breaking the kiss again. He stared at her sitting in her bra and panties on his kitchen counter; it was so sexy to him. The look in her eyes told him that she wanted this as much as he did. He picked her up off the counter and walked up stairs to his bedroom, falling backwards on the bed. He loved the way she felt on top of him.

The sound of her phone ringing brought Elizabeth back to reality.

"Do not go answer that," Stu warned.

She ignored him, getting off his bed and running into the guest room. She checked her caller id and had to suppress a scream.

"PJ!" she said as she answered the phone, "I don't think I can talk long."

"Bee," he said, "I didn't think you'd be able to, but I needed to hear your voice. I'm so sorry. I talked to John today, he sounded worried. Do you think you'll be able to sneak away any time soon? Maybe for like an hour or so?"

"Yeah, I ran into him when I was running today. I'm not really sure if I can get away. He is kind of upset with me for that. I really need to see you though. I need someone to talk to. I never realized how bad keeping everything in my head really is until I didn't get the chance to get it out at all," she told him.

"I don't understand why he wont let you see us. It's not fair. I'm sorry I put you in this situation. I'm sorry about everything that happened. I'm sorry that I didn't believe you. I'm sorry that I didn't protect you," PJ whispered.

"I don't know why. But don't be sorry. You didn't put me in this situation, I put myself in it," she told him, "I just hope that I'll be able to-"

She was cut off when her phone was ripped out of her hand.

"Elizabeth can't talk anymore. She's busy," Stu told him before hanging up and throwing her phone on the floor.

His eyes changed again. They were cold and angry. One look at them made her take a few steps back, which he immediately followed. She felt the back of legs hit the bed and tried to sidestep away from it, but Stu was already there. He picked her up and threw her on the bed. She sat up and backed herself against the headboard as he climbed up the bed and grabbed her ankle, pulling her down to him.

"I distinctly remember telling you not to answer your phone," he growled, "Why did you do it anyway?"

"Stu, I never get to talk to my brother. I never get to talk to my friends. I never get to talk to my boyfriend. I still have one of those ya know," she said.

"Don't get cocky with me. You didn't seem to be thinking about your boyfriend when we were in the kitchen and you were taking my shirt of," he smirked.

He got on top of her and held her hands down by her sides with is knees.

"I remember when Heath and PJ promised you that they would protect you. Look around Elizabeth, they aren't here. They didn't protect you. PJ wouldn't protect you. They don't care about you," he said.

He sat up on his knees, taking all his weight off of Elizabeth. He stared into her eyes and saw the tears that were forming as he started to take off his belt. His eyes were angrier than she'd ever seen them. Slowly she pulled her legs out form underneath him and kicked him with everything she had left in her. He awkwardly fell off the bed backwards and onto the floor. Elizabeth got up as fast as she could, grabbed her phone off the floor, and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She looked through her contacts and suddenly got an idea. Finding the number, she pressed send and hoped they'd pick up.

"Hello," she said, "I'm sorry it's so late, or early, but I really need to ask you a question."

She paused and listened to her explain that she could call at anytime.

"Okay, I know that in my storyline Wade Barrett owns Eliza Gabriel's contract. I was wondering if, in real life, does Stu actually own my contract, PJ's contract, and Heath's contract?" she asked urgently again waiting for her to answer.

"In light of that, I would really like to set up a meeting with your father as soon as possible. I, um, I don't think it's a conversation that should be done on the phone. It needs to be done face to face," she told her.

"Elizabeth, are you having issues with Stu? Does it have to do with that night at the club when his friend attacked you?" she heard Stephanie McMahon-Levesque ask her.

Her breath caught in her throat, "Yes and yes," she choked out.

"Listen, ma'am. With all due respect I can't talk anymore right now. I'm sorry for waking you up and I'll set up a meeting with your dad immediately," she hung up the phone just as Stu started banging on the bathroom door.

"Open up this door, now" he yelled, "This is my house and you will do what I say."

Elizabeth ignored him, making one more phone call.

"Come get me, please," she begged, "I'm at Stu's and I need to get out now. Please hurry. And if you can, can you bring me some clothes? I don't care whose they are. Please?"

"I'm on my way," said the accented voice on the other end of the phone.

Elizabeth looked around the bathroom trying to figure out how she was going to get out. Stu was still banging on the door that led to the guest room, but there was still the door that went to the hallway. She slowly stood up, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her partially naked body. She quickly snuck of the bathroom and ran toward the stairs.

She heard a door open and foolishly looked back to see Stu running at her. She ran down the stairs but didn't get very far before he caught up to her. He grabbed at her arm and pulled her backwards onto the floor. Stu picked he up and threw her into the wall, knocking the breath out of her. Then he dropped her to the floor and started kicking her stomach and ribs.

"Why do you insist on running away? If you'd just stay put, I wouldn't have to hurt you," he told her.

"Stu, please stop it," she begged trying to sit up, "You don't own me. You don't own PJ and you don't own Heath. This is over."

"It's not over until I say it's over. You know that. And I say-" he shouted but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

With his attention at the door, Elizabeth kicked him hard, grabbed her phone, and ran to the door. It took her a minute to unlock it and by the time she did, Stu was to his feet running toward her. She opened the door and in stepped Drew.

"You bitch," Stu yelled, "What is this?"

"She called and said she needed me to come get her. I did. Now I see why she's been avoiding me, avoiding everyone," Drew told him calmly.

"You are not going anywhere Elizabeth. Don't tell me you've forgotten our deal already," Stu threatened.

"Actually, she is. I don't care about the damn deal you made, Stu. She is leaving and you are not going to stop her," Drew told him.

He pulled Elizabeth out the door, keeping his eyes on Stu the whole time. She jumped when Stu slammed the door violently behind them.

"What is going on, Liz?" Drew asked her as he led her to his waiting car.

"I don't want to talk about it. Not right now. Can you just, um, take me to PJ's please? I need to see my brother," Elizabeth told him quietly.

"Yeah I can do that."

They sat in silence on the drive to PJ's condo. Drew kept looking at Elizabeth but she kept her eyes focused on the road in front of them.

"I'll walk you to the door," Drew said as they pulled up. She just nodded at him.

She knocked on the door and didn't stop until it was opened. PJ didn't even have time to say anything before Elizabeth jumped into his arms, knocking him off balance. It took him a minute to register who he was holding.

"Drew? What are you guys doing here? Please come in," PJ said when he saw Drew standing outside.

"I actually have to get back to my wife. Liz called me and asked me to pick her up. So I did. Then she asked me to bring her here. But call me in the morning, I'm really confused," Drew responded then walked back to his car.

"Bee, are you okay?" he asked his younger sister.

She nodded slightly. "He doesn't own our contracts. The WWE does."

"But he said-"

"He lied. I don't want to talk about it anymore," she told him.

"Okay," he said, and then realizing she was only wearing a towel, "Let me get you some clothes."

"PJ?"

"Yeah?"

"I know this is going to sound completely creepy, but can I sleep with you tonight? It used to be the only thing that calmed me down when we were younger," she asked him quietly.

"Of course you can," he answered.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

She woke up the next morning drenched in sweat. She knew she'd had a nightmare even though she couldn't remember what it was about. She looked around and realized she was in her brother's bedroom. She got u and started taking the sheets off the bed. He walked in just as she was looking for clean sheets.

"You were crying in your sleep all night last night, Bee. I barely got any sleep," he told her, "What happened these last few weeks?"

"I'm sorry I kept you awake. Where are your clean sheets?" she said ignoring his question.

"What? Why?"

"Because I sweat all over your sheets from whatever nightmare I had last night, so I took them off your bed. Now I need to put clean ones on," she told him in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You really do not need to do that, Bee. I can-"

"Yes, PJ. I really do. I did it, now I have to clean it up."

"Bee, what is up with you? This is definitely not you talking. Please, talk to me. You have to stop holding it all in. That is not the way Mom and Dad raised us," PJ told her angrily.

"Not the way Mom and Dad raised us? Are you listening to yourself right now? So did they raise us to not believe each other? Did they raise us to choose our friends over each other? Did they tell us that it was perfectly normal for you to hit me?" she yelled at him.

"No," he said quietly, looking down at the floor.

"And do not bring Dad into this conversation," she ignored him, "He would be totally ashamed of me if he were still alive."

"Dad would not be ashamed of you," PJ told her, "Dad would have been proud of you. You stuck up for your friends and family. You put others before yourself. That is what he always taught us."

"No, PJ. You don't get it. You don't have a clue what happened these past few weeks; these past few months for that matter. I may have stuck up for my friends and family but I didn't stick up for myself. I let Stu control me when he had nothing to hold onto. And Dad would have been ashamed of you too," she yelled.

She walked out of her brother's room and to the front door.

"I have some things I need to get. I'll be back later," she said.

"Wait, where are you going?" he asked as he ran down to her.

"I left stuff at Stu's condo and I need to get it before he throws it all away," she told him.

"Bee, you are not going alone. You can't walk into there by yourself," he said.

"Then by all means come along. Unless you're going to tell me that he didn't do anything to me. Would you like to see the bruises he gave me last night? Or are you actually going to believe me this time?" she shot back at his face.

"Bee, I'm sorry. I don't know why I didn't believe you. Stu has been a part of our family for eight years. There was a point in time when you were in love with him. Don't you dare deny it because I could see it in your eyes. I know you never told him, and now I'm glad you didn't. I guess I didn't want to believe he was capable of doing that. I didn't want to think that I brought someone so dangerous into your life. I didn't want to think that I was responsible for you getting hurt. I don't know how many times I'm going to have to apologize to you. I don't know if you'll ever forgive me. But I know that you want to, if you didn't want to then you wouldn't have had Drew bring you here last night," PJ told her.

"I just, I'm angry, Peej. I'm hurting. I'm sorry that I said all of those things just now. Dad wouldn't have been ashamed of you. I know how long Stu has been a part of our family. I was 17 we met. He was a hunky Englishman who was into the same things we were. He was a great guy when we met and yeah, I guess I did fall in love with him. But he changed along the road. His eyes weren't kind anymore, they were just cold. You are not responsible for me getting hurt, I am. I put myself in that position and I let him control me. That is why Dad would have been ashamed of me; I let another person control my actions. But I don't want to talk about this anymore. Please, I just want to get my stuff and set up my meeting with Mr. McMahon," she said trying not to cry.

"Okay. Let's go," PJ told her and they walked out of his condo.

The drive to Stu's was quiet. PJ knew she was trying to figure out how to get in and out without Stu noticing they were there. Thankfully, luck was on their side. Stu's car wasn't in the driveway.

"He keeps the spare key in the same spot as always," Elizabeth explained, "I'll be right back. He isn't here, so I'll be fine."

"Bee-"

"No, PJ. You need to be the lookout. Please? Just stay here. If I'm not back in five minutes then you can come in after me," she told him, getting out of the car.

He stayed in his car and watched as his little sister walked into the house of the man who betrayed their trust. He didn't know how much longer he could just sit back and wait. He looked at the clock, _four more minutes, three more minutes, two more minutes,_ he thought to himself. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw Stu's car pulling up to his house.

PJ got out of his own car and met Stu at the front door.

"What do you think you're doing here, Lloyd?" Stu demanded.

"You aren't going in there until she is out," PJ told him forcefully.

"And what do you think you're going to do? Stop me?" Stu laughed, "I outweigh you and I'm taller than you."

With that, Stu pushed PJ hard against the door and punched him in the stomach, making him fall to the ground. He opened the door and went inside, making sure to lock it behind him. Quickly and quietly he made his way up the stairs to the guest bedroom where he knew Elizabeth would be collecting her things. He stopped in the doorway and decided to go for a sneak attack.

Elizabeth was walking out of the room when she felt strong arms grab her around her waist. Her bags were forced out of her hands and she let out a scream. He turned her around before pushing her to the floor. She tried to spider walk away from him, but her she couldn't move fast enough. He kicked at her legs, making them lose balance and she dropped the few inches back to the floor. She kept scooting back until her hands made contact with the stairs. She couldn't go any further, because if she did she would topple down them. He stalked toward her with a look of pleasure on his face. He was pleased that she was scared. He knew that no one could stop him this time.

"I don't think I like that fact that you have to call my best friend to save you," he scolded her.

"Stu, you can't do this. You don't own me. You don't own any of us," she cried, her desperate tone wasn't lost on him.

"I can do anything I want. This is my house. You let yourself in. I believe that is called breaking and entering her, right? It was self-defense. Some stranger was in my house and I reacted the same way any one else would have. I pushed them down the stairs," he laughed coldly, "Ya know, Elizabeth. There was a time when you wanted me. There was a time when all I had to do was look into your blue eyes and you would melt completely. I think, judging by what happened in the kitchen last night, that you still want me."

"No. I don't want you," she told him boldly, "Last night, when Drew and Taryn were here, I thought I saw a man I used to know. A man who wasn't cruel, who didn't have that coldness in his eyes. I saw a man who cared about someone, something other than himself and winning. I saw someone who wasn't intent on hurting anyone, someone who just wanted to have fun with his friends. Some where along the way that man that I loved eight years ago, he disappeared. His kind and gentle green eyes were replaced with cold and angry ones. His brotherly presence was replaced by a need to hurt anything and anyone who got in his way. You changed Stu. No matter how much I loved you back then, I will never, ever want you."

"I changed? Don't act so self-righteous. You could have had a life of extravagance. A life that involved glamorous parties and ball gowns. But instead, you chose a life that involved sleeping in a different hotel every other night. You chose a good for nothing redneck, who could never provide for you like I could," Stu replied angrily.

"That's what this is all about? Me turning you down? I was 22 years old. I wanted to live my life. I didn't want to get married. I didn't want to settle down. I didn't want to start a family. I wanted to do what I loved. I wanted to travel with my brother. I wanted to see the world. If I had agreed to marry you, I wouldn't have done anything that I wanted," she cried.

"You could have done all of that. I told you that I would wait until you were ready. Then a few months later, you tell me that you were seeing him. I was willing to wait for you," he screamed.

"Willing to wait for me? So that's why you slept around with every ring whore who came your way. You were willing to wait for me. That is such a joke, Stu. And as a matter of fact, that is the worst joke I've ever heard," she shouted back.

"Damn it. Don't you dare yell at me in my own house. Don't you dare talk to me like that in my house. You were such a tease. You still are such a tease. Just wait until I tell Heath how much of a slut his perfect little girlfriend is. I can't wait to see the look in PJ's eyes when I tell them what happened last night," Stu laughed again.

He took his foot and stepped on her face. Her head and shoulders where past the landing and had no support as he forced her head backwards, bending her neck. Her cries only made him want to push harder. He wanted to punish her for hurting him, for turning her back on him, for turning him into this monster. He released the pressure on her face only to kick her in her side. He kicked her ribs in the same spot he had kicked last night until he felt it give. He smiled to himself as she cried out even louder.

"That's enough." The voice was firm and broke Stu out of his trance. He didn't have to look up to know who was standing at the bottom of his stairs.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

"Leave her alone," the voice demanded.

"This is my house. I can do whatever I want," Stu told him.

"Bennett, I'm warning you. I will come up there and kick your ass. I'm not afraid of you," his southern accent was thick with anger.

Hearing his voice, Elizabeth tried to look down at him. A million thoughts raced through her mind.

"If you take one more step, I'll pick her up and throw her down those stairs, Miller. Don't you think I wont," Stu told him.

"Let her go. You can't control her anymore. You don't control any of us. This ends now, it ends here. You realize that your career is over right?" Heath said.

"No."

Both men looked at her, disbelief written on their faces. Neither could comprehend what she was saying no about. She looked up at Stu, begging him with her eyes. He didn't care, those eyes had stopped affecting him long ago and he wasn't going to fall for it now. He kicked her again, harder than the last few times. He dragged her to her feet and shoved her against the wall, holding her there.

"How about we take a little trip down memory lane? Sounds like fun to me. What do you think, Elizabeth? Should we continue the conversation we were having before your knight in shining armor showed up?" Stu asked her.

"Stu, please don't do this. Please," she begged him.

"How about we think back to about five years ago? I think that's when it was right? The first time we kissed? It was in that ratty old barn where your father used to train you and PJ," he saw the tears form in her eyes; she knew where he was going with this conversation.

"Does he know who you had sex for the first time with? Does he know who took your innocence? Does your brother even know?" he demanded.

She shook her head as the tears fell silently. She couldn't do anything to stop him from telling Heath everything. The parts of her life she had wished to forget about, the parts that she hadn't even told her brother. She heard Heath gasp; she could feel him looking at her, waiting for her to deny what Stu was saying. She couldn't look at him; she couldn't face the disgust, the disappointment on his face.

"Bee, what is he talking about?" she heard her brother ask. She didn't even notice him standing next to Heath. She didn't trust her voice; she could only stand there, being held against the wall, look down at the floor, and shake. She wasn't shaking because she was cold though, it was something she did when she was upset, and when she knew her life was going to change dramatically.

"They really don't know. Wow, it must suck for him to find out that I was your first that he got my sloppy seconds. Do they know that I asked you to marry me?" he demanded again.

"Stu, please stop. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry that I told you no. I wasn't ready. I didn't want to settle down yet. I didn't want to get married so young. I didn't want to make a mistake," she whispered.

"A mistake? Did you hear that guys? She didn't want to make a mistake. That's why she told me she wouldn't marry me three years ago. Was our whole relationship a mistake?" he shouted.

"He asked you to marry him?" PJ choked out.

"Stu, please," she begged, "I just, I-"

"You just nothing," Stu yelled again.

Elizabeth couldn't keep the tears from falling any more. She just wanted to escape, be anywhere but there. If she could just distract Stu somehow, she would have enough time to get downstairs. She needed to grab her bags too. There wasn't enough time to think about an escape plan. She felt Stu plant his fist into her ribs again, the ones she was sure he broke earlier. All the air in her body left her, she couldn't breath at all. She gasped, trying to cling to any oxygen she could get.

Stu was so focused on Elizabeth that he didn't see PJ and Heath running up the stairs until Heath tackled him to the floor. Heath started throwing lefts and rights, not caring where he was hitting, just as long as his fists were connecting. He felt a hand on his arm, stopping him from his assault. Heath looked up and saw PJ standing over him and pointing to Elizabeth's bags. He got off Stu, grabbed her bags and walked downstairs after the siblings.

Elizabeth didn't say a word as they ushered her outside and into PJ's Escalade. She didn't say a word as they made their way back to PJ's condo and she didn't say anything when Heath pulled her out of the vehicle and carried her inside. She felt safe in his arms and curled to him, knowing this would probably be the last time he held her. She buried her face in between his neck and shoulder, letting her tears fall onto his skin and shirt. He set her down on the couch in PJ's living room and was about to follow PJ into the kitchen when he felt her grab at his shirt. He looked into her eyes, begging him not to leave her. PJ gave him a knowing look and nodded.

Elizabeth cried herself to sleep as Heath held her. He sat there, trying to process the information that had just been so rudely given to him. He wasn't sure what to say, what to do, or how to react. It was a lot to take in, so when he knew Elizabeth was for sure sleeping he walked into the kitchen of PJ's condo.

"What the hell?" Heath said under his breath, "Did you know about them?"

"I knew that she loved him. I didn't know how serious they were," PJ whispered. He was just as shocked as his best friend.

"I, I don't know what to say to her. I'm not sure what I'm suppose to say," Heath admitted.

"Does anything you just found out change the way you feel about her? Does it make you love her any less? Does it make you want to rethink your relationship?" PJ asked him.

"No. PJ, I love your sister. Nothing in the whole world could change that. It's just that, we've always told each other everything when it came to past loves; at least I thought we did. They were serious, really serious. He asked her to marry him, PJ. What am I suppose to do with that?" Heath told him.

"Honestly, man, I don't know. We need to talk to her when she wakes up. God, how did I not see that? How was I so oblivious, again, that something was going on between them?" PJ said frustrated.

"I don't know how she does it, but she is pretty good a hiding things. She bottles her feelings up and she keeps things to herself. Has she always been like that?" Heath asked.

"No," PJ told him flatly, "She used to be open. She used to have these crazy emotional roller coaster rides, on a daily basis. But, uh, when our Dad was killed, I think I scared her. I went crazy one night. I just lost it. She had never seen me so angry before. I think she became afraid that with her ups and downs and crazy emotions, she'd lose it one day too. Ever since then, she hasn't opened up as much. Not when it comes to how she is truly feeling at least. I wish I could take that day back though. I wish I could take a lot of days back."

"I just want her to be okay. I wish I could know what she is thinking. Did she say anything to you on your way back here?" Heath asked.

"Can you guys please stop talking about me?" Elizabeth was standing in the entryway that led from the kitchen to the living room. They hadn't heard her walk in and didn't know how long she'd been there.

"Babe, I thought you were asleep," Heath told her.

"I've gotten pretty good at faking that," she replied, "I had to."

"Do you think you can answer a few of our questions, Bee?" PJ asked. She shook her head before starting to speak.

"No. I don't want to answer questions. You shouldn't have to force it out of me, so I'm just going to tell you. But first I need to apologize. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you any of this before. Some of it I'm ashamed of and some of it I just want to forget ever happened."

"You don't need to apologize, pretty girl," Heath said as PJ nodded in agreement.

"Okay, before I start, I need you to promise you wont interrupt. I want to get everything out at once. Then if you have any comments, questions, or concerns you can announce them when I'm done," she laughed, trying to joke.

"Not funny," they said in unison.

"Here it goes. Eight years ago, PJ brought Stu to our house in South Africa. At first, we were just friends. I was attracted to him, a lot, but I was 17 and I didn't know any better. We had been talking a lot and when he came back to South Africa when I was 20, we kissed. We started dating and it got pretty intense. We, uh, we ended up having sex and uh, he was my first. I thought I was in love with him and I thought he was in love with me. Then a few years later he asked me to marry him. It was so romantic. We were in Florida and it was just before my 23rd birthday. We went for a walk and he asked me. My head and my heart were conflicted. My head told me that he would be able to take care of me, that he would be able to provide for me, and that he would love me. But my heart told me that there was something more out there, something that wouldn't require me to give up my dreams. Daddy always told us to follow our hearts, not our heads. Whenever he'd say that to PJ I knew he wasn't talking about the head on his shoulders, but he meant it for me. I wasn't ready to start a family and my heart was telling me that Stu wasn't my soul mate. He wasn't, isn't the man I'm suppose to spend the rest of my life yet. Looking back, I'm so glad that I told him no. I've had amazing opportunities since then, and I'm pretty sure that I've found my soul mate. I honestly cannot imagine my life without you, Heath. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry I didn't tell either of you."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

The two most important men in her life stared at her. She couldn't read their facial expressions and it scared her. She had just poured her heart out to them and she needed to know they were still going to be there for her. She had more to tell them but she was afraid they weren't ready to hear it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She needed to be honest with Heath and tell him what happened in Stu's kitchen last night.

"PJ? Do you think I could talk to Heath alone?" she asked him. She watched as he nodded and walked out of the kitchen.

"Liz, what's wrong? You look like you're going to throw up," Heath said nervously.

"I, uh, I kind of feel like I'm going to throw up. Listen, I have to tell you something, I don't want to, but I have to," she started.

"Babe, you know you can tell me anything. Just say it," he replied.

"Don't say anything until I'm done. Please?" she asked he nodded as she walked to sink, her back towards him, "I'm not sure how to say this because it doesn't matter how, it isn't going to come out right any way. I just can't keep this from you. I'm sorry, I am so sorry, Heath."

"What are you sorry for, pretty girl?" he asked.

"You said you wouldn't say anything," she laughed when she turned around to see the sheepish look on his face. She should have known he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Sorry, continue," he smiled.

"I'm just gonna come right out and say this. Last night, Drew and Taryn came over and hung out with Stu and me. We were drinking and we started dancing. Then when Drew and Taryn left, Stu pulled me into the kitchen and he started kissing me," she had been looking at the floor until she said that last part.

She needed to see the look on his face. It was expressionless. There was no emotion. He nodded to her so she went on.

"When we were dancing earlier, I looked into his eyes and I saw the man that I used to love. He was there, and I, uh, I didn't stop him when he kissed me. It went pretty far. We ended up in his bedroom. Then I heard my phone rang and I stopped it. I looked in his eyes and then that man was gone. He was angry again. We didn't have sex, but I didn't stop him and I kissed him back," she couldn't look at him.

She thought he'd be angry. She thought he'd hate her. So she was completely surprised when she felt his familiar strong arms around her waist. He held her against his body and she felt at home.

"Do you still love him?" he asked.

"No," she said but he needed more of an explanation, "I love the man he was eight years ago. Somewhere along the way he changed and he became scary. I don't know how to explain it but I do not love Stu Bennett."

"If things were different. If he hadn't changed, if we hadn't become anything, would you marry him right now, if he asked you?"

"I don't know," she told him honestly.

"If I asked you, would you marry me?" he felt her body try to push against him in an attempt to look into his eyes, but he didn't want her to, he wanted to hear an answer that wasn't her trying to make him happy. She needed to answer this one for herself.

"Right this second," she said.

Her answer shocked him. He let her go and looked her in the eyes. _Those beautiful eyes_, he thought. They were full of love and worry.

"What are you worried about pretty girl?" Heath asked.

"I just told you that I cheated on you and you ask me if I was willing to marry you," she told him.

He laughed, "Pretty girl, I know how I feel about you. I can see it in your eyes that you regret what happened. I haven't really been able to see you in 3 weeks. It's been terrible. Stu is manipulative and persuasive. I'm not mad about what happened though, mostly because you were honest with me. Yeah, I guess it hurts to know that you almost slept with another man but you didn't. I love you with all my heart and I never ever want to see a day without you near me."

"Why?" she blurted out. Heath laughed again. Elizabeth had never really opened up to him about what she was thinking and he knew that it took a lot for her to ask him that.

"You are the first person who has ever made me feel alive. I need you. You make me feel safe, grounded. I like that feeling. Before I meet you, my life was so chaotic. But you seem to make it organized. You make me want to be a better person," he told her.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

"Hey guys."

PJ and Heath looked up from their phones as John Hennigan walked into their locker room.

"Hey what's up?" Heath asked him.

"I was just wondering if you knew what happened with Stu? I haven't seen him around for like two months. Did he get released?" he asked curiously.

No one except PJ, Heath, Barbie, and Elizabeth knew what happened and there was no way they were going to tell anyone.

"I think so," PJ said, "We haven't really heard from him in a while."

There was an awkward silence that filled the room as Elizabeth walked out of the adjoining bathroom where she had been changing into her ring gear. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for the meeting that was about to happen with Vince and Stephanie. She hadn't told PJ and Heath the whole truth when it came to Stu being fired and she was nervous that when they found out they'd be mad at her.

"I've got to go to that meeting with Vince and Stephanie," she announced as she walked out of the bathroom, "Oh hey Johnny, when did you get here? Breaking up a party on SmackDown tonight?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," he teased her, "What's the meeting about? Not in any trouble are you?"

"Trouble? Me? Never. It's not a big deal. You'll see later," she said with a worried look on her face.

"Okay, drop the act, Bee. What is this meeting about? You're all nervous and you look scared to death. Spill," PJ said.

"It's, um, just a review, kinda thing," she stuttered.

"Don't lie, Bee," he said flatly.

"I'm not exactly lying. I'm just not telling you everything. I gotta go, you'll find out soon enough," she told them and walked out of the locker room as quickly as she could.

"What was that about?" John asked obviously confused.

"I have no idea," Heath told him.

Elizabeth knocked on Vince's office door softly and heard him invite her in. She was nervous as to who else was behind the door, hoping that Stu wasn't there. Luckily she had arrived to the meeting before he had.

"Elizabeth, I need to make sure that you are okay with this," Vince told her.

Neither him nor Stephanie had agreed to Elizabeth's decision. She didn't want Stu to get fired; he'd worked too hard to get to where he was today. So they agreed to give him 2 months off with no pay, not that it really had any effect on him. He also had to see a counselor to get whatever problem he had fixed. Elizabeth didn't want him to blame her for anything else that went wrong in his life.

"With all due respect, sir, I suggested this. As long as he upholds his side of the contract that says he doesn't come near me, PJ, Heath, or Barbie then I am fine. I am sure that he wont risk losing his job again," she told him confidently.

"Okay. That leads me to my next question. I know that you have physically recovered; the doc says your ribs have healed up perfectly. I want to know how you are feeling mentally and emotionally," he said.

"I'm fine, honest. I don't really know how I'll be when he is back and I have to see him everyday, but I've been fine with him gone. Hopefully he won't give me any reason to not be fine with him back," she replied.

"Alright, tonight is going to be his first night back. You guys are doing the breakup scene tonight as well as The Corre falling apart," Stephanie told her.

"That sounds perfect," Elizabeth said as she stood up.

"You aren't leaving yet," Vince said and there was a knock at the door, "I need to make sure things are straight between the two of you. I'm going to go over his new contract and I would like you to be present, as much of it concerns your safety."

Elizabeth nodded as Stephanie opened the door and let Stu into the office. She looked down at her hands in her lap, trying to avoid eye contact. She took a deep breath, trying to be as quiet as possible; she couldn't let them know she was scared.

"Stu, thank you for coming to this meeting," Vince said.

"Thank you for having me, sir," Stu replied.

"Oh, don't thank him," Stephanie blurted out, "He wanted to fire you. Hell, I wanted to fire you."

Elizabeth had to stifle a laugh at what she just heard and when she looked up she saw Vince trying to hide a smile as well. She and Vince looked eyes and she was suddenly very grateful that he was such an understanding boss. Most people made him out to be a jackass, but on the inside he was kind.

"Regardless, that isn't what this is about. I want to tell you what will go down tonight. Eliza will win her match tonight against Laycool, without any interference form The Corre. Then when she is celebrating Wade will go down to congratulate her. I don't really care what you say but it will end in her slapping you, therefore initiating the breakup. During the Battle Royal, the men of The Corre will break up as well. Understand?" Vince asked Stu.

"I'm not going to hit him," Elizabeth announced quietly. The three others in the room looked at her. Vince and Stephanie figured she'd jump at the chance to get at least a little bit of revenge for what he did to her. She looked around and realized she needed to explain herself.

"That would be promoting violence in a relationship. It would promote domestic violence and that isn't what Eliza is about. I'm sorry, Vince. Is there any way we can do the break up without me hitting him?" she asked.

"Um, yeah. That's fine Elizabeth, whatever you want," Vince told her, "You are free to go. But first, do PJ and Heath know?"

"No, they don't. I knew they'd get angry. So could we just keep this on the down low until it happens? I need to focus on my match and my spots. I can't be worried about them being angry at me," she told them honestly.

"Again, Elizabeth. Whatever you want. You heard her Stu. Lie low until her match, don't let anyone see you and don't tell anyone you are here. Good luck out there tonight and be safe," Stephanie said as Elizabeth walked out of the office.

She didn't want to go back to where PJ and Heath were so she decided to find Barbie. Unlike the guys, Barbie knew everything. She knew what was going to happen tonight and she knew that Stu didn't actually get fired. She started in the Diva's locker room and was extremely lucky.

"This must be my lucky night," Elizabeth announced when she walked in to see Barbie talking with the other Divas.

"How did your meeting go?" Barbie asked her.

"That is actually what I needed to talk to you about. Can we take a walk, maybe go to catering?" Elizabeth said, not wanting to announce to the other girls what was going on.

"Sure, I'm kind of hungry any way," Barbie said as she walked out of the locker room with Elizabeth, "So, did you tell PJ and Heath about tonight? It's kind of a big deal and they'll probably be pissed if you don't tell them."

"No, I didn't. I just want to focus on my match. We're doing some high-risk spots and I don't want to be worrying about them being pissed at me before it goes down. I'll deal with it afterwards. And they'll try to stop me if I tell them," Elizabeth told her friend.

"Okay, you've got a point there. I just feel like they should know, I don't want them to be blindsided but it," Barbie countered.

"Fine. You can tell them before my match is done, before Stu comes out. That way they wont be blindsided, you'll have warned them. But remember to lock them in the locker room first, otherwise they'll hightail it to the gorilla before my match is even over. Or tell them as he is coming out. Yeah, that way they can't really interrupt it," Elizabeth suggested.

"No way. I am not telling them. If they find out that I knew all along they'll be pissed at me too," Barbie said laughing.

"What will we be pissed about? What do you know that we don't know?" Heath asked as the girls walked into catering where Heath was getting some water.

"Um, just that I win my match tonight. Vince said that you guys couldn't be out there. No distractions. His rule not mine, sorry," Elizabeth told him.

"I thought I heard something about locking us up in the locker room tonight. You two aren't planning on doing anything naughty to PJ and me right? I'm kind of worried, you just look like you're up to something," Heath said.

"Us? Up to something? You're silly, babe. We aren't planning anything naughty. We were just gonna get some food and then I'm gonna get ready for my match. I'll see you after?" Elizabeth said.

"Sure thing, pretty girl," Heath replied with a skeptical look on his face, but kissed Elizabeth on the cheek and nodded to Barbie before heading back to his locker room.

"That was a close one," Barbie whispered and Elizabeth nodded.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

PJ, Heath, and Barbie were in sitting together at a table in catering where they were watching Elizabeth's match. They knew she was going to win, so Heath and PJ didn't know why Barbie was so nervous about the whole thing. She was chewing on the cap to her water bottle during the whole match.

"Barbs, ya gotta chill," Heath told her, "She'll be fine. This is an easy match. Yeah, she's got some high-risk spots, but it's nothing she hasn't done before."

"It's not that. I'm not worried about the match," Barbie finally told them as the match was near its end.

"Then what are you worried about, babe?" PJ asked her.

"Just keep watching. You can't leave this table until after it's all done. I can't tell you but you'll see just as soon as she wins," Barbie told them.

They looked at her with confused looks on their faces. She was obviously worried about something but had once again promised Elizabeth she wouldn't tell them.

Eliza pinned Layla for the win and immediately her song, Girl Like That, played throughout the arena. She jumped up and down in the ring celebrating but was cut short when The Corre's theme started playing. The crowd looked around for Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater, but were shocked when the saw Wade Barrett sauntering towards the ring with a grin on his face.

"What do you think you're doing out here, Barrett?" Eliza yelled before he even got to the ring.

"I came out here to congratulate my beautiful girlfriend. Don't you all think she's beautiful?" he asked the crowd and they cheered in reply.

"Your girlfriend? You disappear for two months, not telling anyone where you are, not telling anyone you were leaving. You didn't even say goodbye. Now you're back and you didn't even bother telling me? I was worried sick, Wade. You didn't even call. I didn't get a text, or even an e-mail," she told him.

"I'm sorry. I had an emergency in England that I needed to take care of," he told her, "Please forgive me."

"No. I don't give second chances. You and I are done. Finished," she said and she walked out of the ring while he stood there looking after her with a dumbfounded look on his face.

As soon as she got backstage, she ran as fast as she could to the Diva's locker room to hide form her brother and real life boyfriend. When she got in there the other girls looked at her like she was crazy.

"I thought Stu was released. Where has he been these past two months?" Brie Garcia, one of the Bella twins, asked generally.

There was a banging on the door, making Elizabeth jump and run towards the showers.

"If it's PJ or Heath, I'm not here," she whispered to them.

"Heath, PJ. Fancy seeing you two here," Eve said as she answered the door, "What can I do for you handsome men?"

"Laying it on a little bit thick there, Eve. We know she's in here so stop hiding her. This is really important. We need to talk to her and it's for her own safety," PJ said.

"Fine, when you put it like that I can't hide her. Liz, you gotta get out here. If your safety is in jeopardy then I'm not hiding you," Eve yelled from the door.

"My safety isn't in jeopardy!" Elizabeth yelled back, "I'm taking a shower. You boys will have to come back later. Or I'll just see you at the hotel!"

"Oh, no you don't. Is there any other girls back there?" he asked and when Eve shook her head he walked straight into the showers.

"Our locker room. Now," Heath told her.

Elizabeth walked out of the locker room hanging her head in defeat.

"Dead girl walking," Barbie said under her breath as Elizabeth walked by.

"Save me, B" Elizabeth begged.

"Oh, she isn't getting out of this one either. She knew about it," PJ said, pulling the two girls out of the Diva's locker room and towards The Corre's locker room.

When they got close, Barbie subtly showed Elizabeth that she had her car keys and cell phone. They locked eyes and nodded to each other.

"Go!" Barbie yelled and they took off running towards the parking lot.

Once they got in Barbie's rental, they locked the doors and drove away as fast as legally possible. Both girls were laughing so hard that they had tears in their eyes. They laughed even harder when Barbie's phone went off telling them she received a text message.

"It's from PJ. 'You two are in BIG trouble when we get back to the hotel.' What should I say back?" she asked.

"Say, 'oooh we are so scared of the South African Sensation.' They are going to be so mad at us. Might as well have some fun with it before they kill us," Elizabeth laughed. Barbie laughed as she texted him back and then drove to the hotel.

"Maybe we should change our room and put it under a false name?" Barbie suggested, "They will freak out when they can't find us!"

"Excellent idea!" Elizabeth squealed as she walked to the front desk, "Hi, we would like to change our room if that's possible. Right now we're in 304. We'd like a double but we can share a king bed if we need to. Can we change the name for that too?"

"Sure thing, ma'am. What would you like to put the name under?" the lady asked. Elizabeth and Barbie looked at each other and thought the same thing.

"Rose Dawson," they said at the same time, both thinking Titanic.

The lady laughed as she typed it into the computer, "You two don't want to be found tonight do you?" she asked.

"Do you think we can get on a different floor? Most of the SmackDown roster is on the 3rd floor and they would totally tell PJ and Heath," Barbie asked.

"We can do that. Do you think I can get an autograph form the two of you?" she replied.

"Of course," Elizabeth told her.

When everything was sorted out, Elizabeth and Barbie headed up to their new room still laughing. They knew they'd be in trouble in the morning, but at the moment they didn't care. They needed time to have fun and let go. They didn't want to care about anything. Barbie had thought of everything before Elizabeth's match. She figured they'd need a quick getaway so she had packed her bag and Elizabeth's bag in her car.

"You are a life saver," Elizabeth told her once they were in the serenity of their own room. The lady at the front desk had given them a huge room with a Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. The girls quickly filled it up with warm water and bubbles before changing into their bathing suits. The two friends sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying their last few hours of freedom before getting yelled at.

"Why did you do it?" Barbie asked suddenly, breaking the silence, "Why did you ask Vince to not fire Stu? I don't get it."

"I didn't want him to blame it on me. I didn't want to be the cause of something else going wrong in his life. I couldn't take away what he worked so hard to get," Elizabeth said quietly.

"I still don't think that would have been enough for me. He hurt you, Bee. He took you away from your family and friends. He threatened all of us. I don't think I would have been able to be so forgiving," Barbie replied.

"I'm not forgiving him. I don't think I will ever forgive him. It was so hard to be in that ring with him tonight. I was scared, even though I knew he wouldn't do anything in front of everyone. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that he and I used to be together, that I used to love him," she said.

"Can you explain that more to me? I guess I don't understand that part either. I never knew you were even with him until PJ told me what happened the day you came home," Barbie told her. She watched as Elizabeth took a deep breath and closed her eyes, watching her look through her memories.

"I was 17 when PJ first brought him to our house in South Africa. I remember I was in the barn Dad used to train us in, just working out. I had the stereo playing so loud that I didn't hear them come in and I jumped when someone turned it off. I turned around and saw them standing there watching me. I felt really uncomfortable because neither of them said anything…"

_Flashback_

"_Um, hi?" Elizabeth said slowly._

"_Bee, this is a friend of mine. He's from England," PJ told her, "Stu, this is my baby sister, Elizabeth."_

"_It's nice to meet you, Elizabeth," Stu said with a smile on his face._

"_It's nice to meet you too. But I'm not a baby," Elizabeth replied, glaring at her brother._

"_You've got nice upper cut. Do you box?" Stu asked._

"_Um, no," Elizabeth said smartly._

"_Bee, don't be rude," PJ told her. _

_She rolled her eyes and collected her things. The two men watched as she walked out of the barn and up to the house. _

"_I don't think she likes me," Stu said._

"_Don't worry about it. She'll come around. She doesn't really like anyone lately. For the past few years she's been keeping to herself. Let me go talk to her. She shouldn't have been so rude," PJ replied, "Let's go in the house. I'll show you where you'll be staying."_

_The men walked the same path Elizabeth had just taken and into the house. PJ took Stu upstairs to the guest room before finding Elizabeth in her own room, listening to music._

"_That was rude," he said when he walked in._

"_Do you know how to knock, PJ?" she asked without looking at him._

"_Hey, this is my house. I can walk into whatever room I want without knocking," PJ told her._

"_This isn't your house," Elizabeth said under her breath, regretting what she'd said as soon as it left her lips, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."_

"_You need to apologize to him. He's a friend of mine and he'll be staying here for a few weeks. I don't want you walking around here ignoring both of us. You've been ignoring me for the past 4 years and I'm sick of it. You need to start talking to me more. I need you to open up, Bee. I need my little sister," he said as he sat down on her bed._

"_I'm not little. I'm 17 years old. I'm going to be graduating in two months," she said angrily._

"_Speaking of school, why aren't you there right now?" he asked, raising his eyebrows._

"_Do you not know what time it is? That, right there, is why I don't open up to you. You ignore me just as much as I ignore you. You don't even know what time it is. You're suppose to be my guardian, but you suck at it."_

"_Look, Bee. I know you want to hate me right now and I understand that. But you've hated me ever since Dad died and I don't think you understand how much that hurts. I'm trying to take care of you but it's hard when you don't want to be taken care of," PJ replied, "I don't want to talk about this right now. But I do want you to apologize to Stu. He's a good guy and he could probably teach you a lot in the ring."_

"_PJ, he asked if I was a boxer. Apparently he isn't that smart when it comes to being in the ring. Besides, I don't want him to teach me anything. The one person I do want to teach me, wont," she told him._

_PJ sighed, "You will apologize."_

"So did you apologize?" Barbie asked her.

"Yeah, PJ practically forced me too," Elizabeth told her laughing at the memory.

"I didn't know that your relationship with PJ had been so rocky. I've always known you to be so close," Barbie said.

"I was really depressed back then, and I took it out on him. He didn't deserve anything I did to him. I was rude and hurtful. I would go days without talking to him, that's why he panicked when I went home after Stu and his friend beat me up. I think he was afraid that I would stop talking to him again. I don't know if I could ever do that again, we are a lot closer now than we were then," Elizabeth said.

"So, how did you and Stu end up getting together?"

"He came back to stay with us when I was 20. We had been talking a lot since the last time he was there and we got to know each other really well. I fell in love with him when he was gone and when he came back I knew that I wanted to be with him. We were working out in the barn one day when PJ was out doing something, I don't even remember what now. Then all of a sudden we were kissing. After that we snuck away from PJ as often as we could without looking suspicious. A month or two later we had sex. It was my first time but he was gentle and kind. If I told you that there was once a time when Stu Bennett was kind, would you believe me?" Elizabeth asked and laughed when Barbie shook her head, "Well there was. His eyes weren't cold and mean like they are now. Well anyway, fast-forward a couple of years and I'm 22, about to turn 23. PJ and I had just moved to Tampa. Stu had been there for a while. One day, the two of us were taking a walk but something was different. When I looked into his eyes I didn't see the man I fell in love with when I was 17. I don't know how to explain it, but he was just different. That night he asked me to marry him and I told him no. I didn't give him any explanation, I just said no and ran away."

"Wow. That is crazy. What was it like seeing him after that?" Barbie asked.

"It was like nothing ever happened. PJ still didn't know that we were together and now there was no reason to tell him. One day, Stu told me that he would wait until I was ready. Then a week later I saw him going back to his place with some ring whore. So I moved on. He obviously didn't love me if he was going to be bringing them back to his place. After that, we just acted like we hadn't been anything. There was no mention of us being together. I decided to forget about it and then Heath was there. He helped me pick up the pieces and he didn't even know he was doing it. We'd been friends since he picked us up at the airport but he became more than that. Eventually we told PJ and went public. Stu didn't say anything to me about it, so I figured he was over our little fling too," Elizabeth answered.

"Do you still love him?" Barbie asked.

But Elizabeth didn't get the chance to answer because there was a knock on the hotel room door that made both girls freeze while staring at each other.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Elizabeth got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her body then waited for Barbie to follow suit before walking out to the main room. She walked to the door and stood on tiptoes to look through the peephole and breathed a sigh of relief when it wasn't PJ or Heath.

"It's Drew," she smiled, "Should we let him in?"

"I heard that Liz. Let me in. I wont tell them you're here, but I think we need to talk. I can at least tell them that you are safe," Drew yelled through the door.

"Fine," she whined as she opened the door, just wide enough for Drew to sneak in, "But please don't yell at me."

"I thought Vince fired him," Drew stated.

"Nope," Elizabeth said.

"I'm going to require more than one word answers here, Liz. Barbie, were you in on this too?" Drew asked.

"She wasn't in on anything. She just knew about it. I asked Vince to not fire him. I couldn't take away everything he has worked so hard for, Drew. He's lost everything else, everyone else. I didn't want him to blame me for his dreams being taken," Elizabeth explained.

"Then why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you at least warn us that he was coming back so we could protect you?" Drew whined.

"Because I knew that you'd all try to stop it from happening. We had to finish the storyline somehow. He couldn't just come back and leave the fans totally oblivious to whether we were still together or not. I knew that he wouldn't hurt me in front of everyone; he wouldn't risk his job anymore. I don't know where he's been but he hasn't been getting paid for the past two months, that was his consequence," Elizabeth told him.

"Okay, I don't really approve but I guess I can't really do anything about it now. So explain your disappearing act and hiding. PJ and Heath are going to flip a lid when you aren't in your room. They'll automatically think the worst," he said.

"Oh that part is just for fun," Barbie announced with a laugh, "Speaking of hiding, how in the world did you find us?"

"I bribed the lady at the front desk. I'm quite persuasive. And I told her I'd get autographs and merchandise from PJ and Heath," Drew replied.

"Andrew Galloway, you are terrible," Barbie told him, hitting playfully.

"Not as terrible as the two of you. They are going to be knocking on every single door in this hotel until they find you," Drew said, as he got ready to leave, "Just be careful Okay?"

"We will be," Elizabeth told him and she shut the door behind her.

"I think we should leave them a hint. Somewhere they will know to look," Barbie said as she sat on the bed looking for some comfy clothes to change in to.

"I'm going to text Drew and ask him to write the name Rose Dawson in the laundry room. PJ will think to look there. I'm not sure how but he knows about our thing with laundry rooms in hotels. And Heath knows about my obsession with Titanic," Elizabeth laughed.

"That's perfect. Now how about a movie to finish off this amazingly fun night?" Barbie suggested.

"Oh no!" Elizabeth exclaimed, "It's Family Movie Night. PJ is totally going to kill me!"

"Bee, he's gonna kill you any way," Barbie reminded her.

"That's true," Elizabeth said laughing some more, "I don't really want to watch a movie. What else can we do on our last night of freedom before the boys ground us for life?"

"Dance Party? We can have some of the girls sneak up here?" Barbie suggested.

"No. The last time I had a dance party it didn't end well," Elizabeth told her.

"Then let's just talk. You didn't get to answer my question earlier," Barbie remembered.

"What question was that?" Elizabeth asked.

"I asked if you still loved Stu," Barbie said.

"I don't love the person he is now. I don't love the Stu Bennett that people know today. He is cruel and hurtful. I miss the man he used to be, I miss the man I met 8 years ago. I love the person he used to be, not the person he is now," Elizabeth replied.

"If he went back to the person he used to be, would you love him again?"

"No. Too much has happened. Besides, I love Heath. Heath is a better man than Stu ever was, even when he was a good guy. When I told Heath everything that happened he asked me if none of this had happened, if Stu hadn't done what he did and if Heath and I weren't together would I tell Stu that I would marry him. I honestly don't know if I would. Then he asked me if I would marry him. I wasn't sure if he was proposing at first, which he wasn't, he just wanted to know if he asked me what I would say. I told him I would, at the drop of a hat. I would give up everything for Heath Miller. I could never say that about Stu," Elizabeth told her.

"Heath is a great guy, Bee. He'll treat you like a freaking princess, heck he already does," Barbie said.

"I know. He is the best. I never thought he'd be so understanding, especially after I told him what happened between Stu and me. I thought he'd break up with me on the spot, but then he asked if I would consider marrying him. I was in total shock. I would honestly jump off a bridge for him, I honestly believe he is my soul mate," Elizabeth said.

"That is so great. I'm really happy for the two of you," Barbie replied with a smile on her face.

"Okay, now enough about me. How are you and my annoyingly, overprotective brother?" Elizabeth asked with a sly smile on her face.

"We are good," Barbie said shyly, "I really like your brother. He is the perfect guy and I wouldn't change anything about him."

"He really loves you, B. I don't think I've seen him look at any girl the way he looks at you. You mean the world to him. You've been really good for him," Elizabeth told her friend.

The two friends laughed and joked for a long time before they finally lied down to go to sleep. Just as they turned out the lights, there was another knock on the door. This time it sounded desperate. Barbie groaned as she rolled out of bed and turned the lights back on. When she checked the peephole she burst out laughing. Elizabeth knew right away who was at the door and started laughing uncontrollably herself. The knocking continued making the girls laugh even harder.

"This isn't funny," Heath yelled through the door after hearing the girls laugh.

"Come back tomorrow then, please. We were just about to go to sleep," Barbie choked out between laughs.

"No. Open the door. We need to talk about this," PJ said in an angry voice Barbie hadn't heard before.

Elizabeth immediately jumped out of bed and opened the door. She'd heard the voice before and it scared her that he'd just used it. She knew he'd be mad but she didn't think he'd be this mad.

"PJ, I-" she started to say.

"Don't talk. This isn't the time for either of you to talk. I'll talk and you'll listen. Understand?" he told them.

The girls nodded and sat on the edge of one of the beds, looking down.

"First, Elizabeth Ann Lloyd, why did you not bother to tell us Stu wasn't fired? Why did you not bother to tell us that he was coming back tonight? And why in the hell did you not bother to tell us that you were going to be in the same ring as him?" PJ yelled.

"Answer me," he yelled ever louder.

"You told us not to talk," Elizabeth said.

"Don't get smart with me. This isn't fun and games any more. He could have seriously hurt you tonight," PJ told her.

"I'm sorry. I knew you'd be mad and try to talk me out of it. We had to finish the storyline. Creative needed to break us up so that we could start new storylines. I knew you both would try to stop it so I didn't tell you," she told him quietly.

"You could have been in danger," Heath yelled.

"He wouldn't have done anything in front of everyone. He wont risk losing his job," Elizabeth said, her voice barely a whisper.

"He should have lost his job in the first place. Did you know that he hadn't been released?" Heath asked her.

"I asked for him not to be released," she said.

"You what?" Heath and PJ yelled at the same time.

"Guys, stop yelling at her. Can't you see that you're scaring her?" Barbie said, pointing out that Elizabeth was crying.

"No, we will not stop yelling. Barbie I cant believe you went along with this. Then that little hit and run you did. I'm more mad about that," PJ told her, "Why would you take off like that and not tell us where you were going? For all we knew, Stu could have kidnapped the two of you."

"I think that's a little extreme, PJ. We were perfectly safe. That was one of the reasons I suggested a room change and to put it under a different name. I made sure he wouldn't find us. And Heath, you can stop pretending that you're angry," Barbie said.

"Pretending? Heath what is she talking about?" PJ asked, turning to look at his friend.

"That's cold Barbs," Heath said as his face turned as red as his hair.

"Explain to me what is going on," PJ told him.

"Barbie told me what was going to happen before we went to catering. I knew you'd flip so I helped her get Liz's stuff to her car and we came up with an escape plan. I figured they could use some fun time before you started yelling at them. Look, she just had to face the man who beat the shit out of her. She had to look him in the eyes and not run away. She deserved some down time before you lit into her," Heath explained with a shrug.

Elizabeth jumped up from her spot and into Heath's arms. She couldn't believe how lucky she'd been to find such an amazing man.

"I love you, Heath Miller," she whispered in his ear.

"I love you too, pretty girl. This doesn't mean that I'm not upset that you didn't tell us about Stu. Because I am. It means that I understand why you did what you did. I don't like him and I sure as hell don't trust him. But you have your reasons and I cannot question those. From now on, I need you to be honest with me though. I need you to talk to me about things like this," Heath told her looking into her eyes.

She nodded her head as he put her down and she turned to look at her brother. He was still angry, but not as angry as he had been. Now he looked more scared than anything.

"Don't do that to me ever again. Don't run away and hide from me. I can't go through what I went through tonight again, Bee. I cannot lose you one more time," PJ told her, his voice shaking.

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth whispered.

"I know you are. And I understand why you didn't tell us. I don't agree with it, but I understand," PJ said.

"I love you, PJ. You are the best brother in the whole world. I'm so sorry for everything that has happened. I'm sorry that I haven't been honest with you. I just don't want to disappoint you," Elizabeth admitted.

"Bee, you could never, ever disappoint me. I will always be proud of how far you've come. I can still remember that 17-year-old punk who hated me, the one who would go weeks without talking to me. I don't want you to ever go back to that. I'll admit it was mostly my fault for not taking care of you properly, for not paying attention to you like I should have. And that is the one time I will be thankful that Stu was in our lives. When he was in South Africa that first time, I got my baby sister back," PJ told her.

"I'm not a baby, PJ," Elizabeth said defiantly.

PJ laughed as he remembered all the times she told him that when they were growing up. She'd always be the baby to him, no matter how old she was.

"Okay, no more fighting tonight," Barbie announced, "How about you two stay here tonight, we both have huge beds and we can turn a movie on."

"Family Movie Night?" Heath asked with a smile on his face.

"Family Movie Night," PJ agreed.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Elizabeth woke early the next morning and felt like going to the gym. So she woke Heath up to let him know where she was going.

"Babe, wake up for a minute," she whispered.

"What's wrong pretty girl?" he said in a sleepy voice, making her giggle.

"I'm going to go down to the hotel gym and run on the treadmill for a while. I didn't want you guys to worry," she told him.

"I'll go with you," he offered.

"No, no. You need to get some more sleep. I'll be back in a while," she answered and walked out of the room quietly.

She walked to the stairwell and ran down them with her headphones in, blaring Hollywood Undead. When she got to the main lobby there was a sign that said the hotel gym didn't open until 7:00. Elizabeth checked her watch. _Damn, it's only 6:15,_ she thought to herself. She caught sight of the person working the front desk and smiled.

"Excuse me, ma'am," she said as she walked to the desk.

"Rose Dawson," the lady said with a smile.

"I was wondering if I could get in the gym a little early? I feel like running but I don't know anything about this city so I wanted to run on the treadmill. The sign says it isn't open until 7 though," she explained.

"Of course you can," the lady responded.

"Oh, thank you so much," Elizabeth said as she walked away, "One more thing, if it's not too much to ask."

"Yes, dear?" the lady asked.

"There is one specific person on SmackDown that I'm not allowed to be around. I don't think he'd be up this early but just in case, if a tall man with curly black hair and an English accent asks to use the gym, will you let me know first? So that I can get out of the gym before he goes in?" she requested.

"Yes ma'am. I can certainly do that," the lady told her.

"Thank you."

Elizabeth walked to the gym and looked around. She wanted to make sure she wasn't putting herself in any danger. It was completely empty. Elizabeth put her headphones back in and turned the music up louder before she got on the treadmill. She slowly worked her way into a fast run, where she stayed for a long time. Eventually her legs started to feel tired so she brought the speed down slowly until at last she was walking then not moving. She grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off her forehead. The towel was still covering her eyes when she turned around and ran into something hard. When she looked up she saw a cocky smirk. She yanked her headphones out of her ears and looked around her. They blinds to the room had been drawn and no one would be able to see inside.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"I could ask you the same thing," he responded in his thick English accent.

"I'm not in the mood to play games, Stu. I was just getting ready to leave, so if you'll just move out of my way then I'll be out of your hair," Elizabeth told him.

"What if I don't want you out of my hair?" he asked her.

"Don't start, Stu. You know that if you touch me, you're fired," she said.

"Details, Elizabeth. Simple details that can be overlooked and forced into being forgotten," he replied, stepping closer to her.

"I want to leave," Elizabeth demanded.

Just then the door was opened. Heath, PJ and Barbie walked in laughing loudly. Stu stepped away from Elizabeth, letting her walk to the door before the others could see.

"Sorry guys, I was just getting ready to head back to the room. We should go," Elizabeth told them, meeting them at the door.

PJ looked around the gym and saw Stu standing on the other side of the room.

"What is he doing here?" PJ asked.

"He just got here, like a second before you did. I just finished running and heading out when you guys opened the door," Elizabeth lied, "Lets go back to the room and change. We can go out to breakfast or something."

"Come on, PJ. Let's go," Heath said, pulling him out of the hotel gym.

"Bee?" Barbie whispered to her she walked out of the gym behind Heath and PJ. Elizabeth shook her head to her.

"Later," she whispered back.

Barbie and Elizabeth went back to the room they had gotten last night, while PJ and Heath went to their separate rooms on the 3rd floor. Immediately, Elizabeth tried to busy herself by looking for what to wear but Barbie had other ideas.

"Spill," Barbie said.

"There's nothing to tell," Elizabeth responded.

"Nothing to tell?" Barbie repeated raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah. I got off the treadmill, grabbed a towel to dry my face and when I turned around I ran into him. He tried to bully me around but then you guys walked in and saved the day. Congratulations," Elizabeth told her.

"Okay, okay. No need to get snotty. We are worried about you, Bee. None of us like that he is back and it makes us worry even more. PJ isn't going to want to let you out of his sight for a really long time. He is going to have someone following you, discretely. I don't know who it is going to be and it will probably change," Barbie informed her.

"What? Are you being serious right now? He is going to have someone baby-sit me? He can't do that Barbie. I'm not a baby. Does he not trust me or something?" Elizabeth said angrily.

"It's not that he doesn't trust you, it's that he doesn't trust Stu," Barbie said.

"What makes him think that whoever he has follow me isn't taking orders from Stu?" Elizabeth asked as she changed into her street clothes.

"It will only be someone he trust, Bee. I don't know who it will be," Barbie replied. She was about to say something else when there was a knock at the door.

"Jesus Christ people. Would you just leave us alone?" Elizabeth said as she walked to the door and looked through the peephole, "Oh it's just PJ and Heath."

"Is that anyway to treat your two favorite men, Liz?" Heath asked her when she opened the door, "I thought your brother brought you up better than that."

"My brother shouldn't have had to bring me up," Elizabeth said under her breath.

"You're right, Bee. I shouldn't have," PJ whispered in her ear. She looked at him in shock.

"I'm sorry, PJ. I didn't mean that," she told him.

"No, you did mean it. You just didn't mean for me to hear it. Over the years my ears grew accustomed to your voice and trying to figure out what you were saying under your breath. I had to, it was the only way you would talk to me for a few years," PJ said, "And no, Heath. I didn't really bring her up better than that."

"Can we not talk about that right now? I just want to go get something to eat. I'm really hungry," Elizabeth asked.

"How hungry are we talking?" Heath asked her with a smile on his face.

"The kind of hungry that feels like I've starved myself for almost 5 months and I'm finally ready to eat again," she teased.

"Elizabeth, that isn't funny," PJ told her.

"Well, that's how hungry I feel," she said.

"Fine then, let's go eat. Then we'll come back here and pack for the next house show." Heath replied.


	27. Chapter 27

_**A/N: This chapter is kind of short, but the next one will be longer.**_

_**Thank you to all who have given reviews. **_

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

"Liz, where's your head at?" Heath asked her.

They had gotten some time to go home and rest up before the next set of house shows and SmackDown tapings, so they were spending some time in Tampa. Elizabeth hadn't been back to Tampa since everything that happened with Stu went down. She wanted to sleep in her own bed but she didn't want to be alone so she asked Heath if he would stay with her.

"I don't know," she replied, "I guess I'm just scared. I don't know if I wanna go inside."

"Babe, I'm right here. I'll be right by your side the whole way. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," Heath promised her.

She nodded and opened the door of Heath's truck. He grabbed their bags and walked with her inside the building, waiting for her to unlock the door. They walked in her apartment and as Heath set down their bags Elizabeth locked the door behind them. They walked up to her room and she lied down on the bed, totally exhausted.

"Can we just stay here tonight? Can you just hold me and tell me that everything is going to be all right? Because right now, I don't know how I'm going to get through this without you," she told him, with sad, scared eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere, pretty girl. We can do whatever you want to do," he replied as he lied down next to her, holding her tight, "I know you'll probably say no, but I was wondering if you wanted to talk. I mean, really talk. You've been stuck inside your mind for a few months now and I just need to know what you're thinking."

"Honestly, I can't make any sense of what I'm thinking right now. Part of me wants to quit, so that I don't have to see him anymore. But then I remind myself that I had the chance to have him fired and I chose not too. Part of me wants to just forget it ever happened. I'm just so sick of feeling numb. There are days I wake up and feel nothing. There are days when I simply cannot eat, no matter how much I want to, I just cant. Part of me wants you to leave me alone, because I feel like I deserve to be in pain right now. Part of me wants you to stay because I cannot imagine my life without you. I want to punish myself, I want to hurt. I just want to feel something," Elizabeth vented.

"Why would you want to hurt? You've been hurting for so long," Heath told her.

"Because for so long, hurting is all I've known how to do. Ever since my dad died I've been hurting. When I was younger I took it out on PJ. Then I took it out on the family who took us in, they were trying to help me and I couldn't see it. They are basically a second set of parents to me and I was horrible to them because I was hurting. Then when he came around I didn't hurt as bad, I just turned numb. I hadn't been happy in so long that I thought numb was happy. Then we came here and I remembered what happy really was. It wasn't what I had with him, I found true happiness in the ring. Then after we ended, you were there and you fixed me. I was truly happy even when I wasn't in the ring and I could actually smile, a real smile. I don't know how to explain it, but something in me changed," she explained.

"Why do you want me to leave you?" he asked.

"Because you deserve better than me. I've lied to you; I've cheated on you. I've done terrible things Heath. We haven't slept together, slept together since everything with Stu started. You deserve better than that. I can't make you happy right now and I don't know when I'll be able to," she told him, without looking into his eyes.

When he laughed she looked up at him with a confused look on her face.

"You think I really care about whether or not we have sex right now? I love you for who you are not for what you do in bed. And you didn't cheat, he raped you there is a big difference there," Heath said.

"But I did cheat. I kissed him back, we almost had sex. It wasn't forced that time," she told him.

"And you were honest with me. I'm not angry with you. You saw the man you fell in love with eight years ago, you saw a glimpse of the man you still love deep down. I can't be angry at you for that," he replied.

"I don't love him," she said.

"You may not love who he is now, but you love who he used to be. He isn't that person now, but you still love that person," he told her, making her look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be sorry pretty girl. Now, how about we get some sleep. I know that you're tired and you need some rest. I feel like you haven't done anything but be busy since everything happened," he said.

"That's because being busy is the only thing I can do to keep my mind busy. But I am tired; I think all of this is finally getting to me. Thank you," she replied.

"Thank me? For what?" he asked confused.

"For making me talk. For always knowing exactly what I need and when. If it weren't for you I would have had an emotional breakdown in front of everyone and I don't think I can afford that right now. Thank you for being the most amazing guy I've ever met in my life. Thank you for being so understanding. I could go on if you'd like," she explained with a light in her eyes he hadn't seen in a while.

"As much as I love when you shower me with praises, you need to sleep before you have a physical breakdown. Now that is something you cannot afford. I love you pretty girl. I'll always be here for you. So drift off to sleep because I promise you I'll be here when you wake up."

She nodded and closed her eyes, cuddling against him. She tried to get as close to him as she could. Within seconds she was fast asleep and he followed shortly after.

They were woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of something breaking in the kitchen. Elizabeth looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand next to her bed. _3:45,_ she thought, _what the heck is going on?_

"What the fuck was that," Heath asked in a hushed voice. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"Stay here, do not move a muscle. If you hear any more noises I want you to call the police," he whispered to her.

Elizabeth watched as he quietly left her room and made his way to the kitchen. She didn't hear anything and it made her nervous. It seemed like she was waiting forever so she decided to go find out where he was. When she walked out to the living room, she felt arms grab her around her waist and when she went to scream, her attacker put some sort of cloth to her mouth. Within seconds she was went limp and finally gave in, letting everything around her go black.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

When she woke up, Elizabeth couldn't remember where she was. She tried to sit up but her body felt too heavy for her to move. She looked around, trying to make out where she was.

"Heath?" she called, her voice was raspy and her mouth was unbelievably dry.

"Heath isn't here. Once again, he couldn't protect you," a voice said. She couldn't tell where it was coming from and she couldn't see whom it was, but the accent was unmistakable. He chuckled when he heard her gasp in fear.

"Where am I?" she tried to ask. Her mouth was so dry it hurt her throat to talk.

"Well, that's the thing, I can't tell you. If I did then you would call lover boy and big brother and tell them. We can't have that happening, now can we?" he told her.

"What do you want?" she asked, slightly afraid to hear the answer.

"You," he said simply, "You are going to marry me, tomorrow. I've figured everything out and you're already wearing your engagement ring. It's quite a bit larger than the one I proposed with last time, so I'm sure you'll like it better this time.

"I am not going to marry you Stu. I will never marry you," she told him.

"Oh, I think you will once you see who is in danger if you don't. But before we get to that part, I'm sure you must be hungry. I can't let me fiancé starving and passing out before our big day. So get up and get downstairs so that we can eat breakfast like a family," he replied.

"Someone is in danger? Stu please don't hurt anyone, please," she begged.

"Don't make me and I wont have to. Now get up," he demanded.

Elizabeth sat herself up, finally getting a chance to look around the room she was in. She could tell that it wasn't his condo because none of the rooms in his condo looked like this. She stood up and walked over to where Stu was standing and he pulled her into a hug that she didn't return.

"See, this is what we should have already had, you waking up in the morning to me. Now we will have that until I decide I don't want you around anymore," he chuckled again as she tried to pull away.

He grabbed her arm tightly and led her downstairs to the kitchen and sat her down at the countertop in the middle of the big room. There were two plates on it filled with food. Elizabeth looked down at the plate in front of her and immediately her stomach started turning.

"I don't think I can eat right now," she told him quietly.

"Why not? Is my food not good enough for you?" he asked loudly.

She shook her head quickly and grabbed her fork. Picking at the scrambled eggs, she slowly ate. There was bacon and sausage and potatoes, but nothing looked good and she was afraid that if she ate it she wouldn't be able to keep it down. She ate as much as she could before putting her fork down and noticing the glass of water sitting in front of her. She grabbed it and chugged it as fast as she could, finally giving her mouth and throat some relief.

"Thirsty much," Stu said.

"Yeah, I feel like I haven't had anything to drink I forever," Elizabeth replied.

"If you're done eating, I'll show you the reason you are going to marry me," he told her, "and trust me, once you see who it is, you'll want to marry me right now."

He laughed as he pulled her to another room in the big house. He unlocked the door and pushed her inside.

"Stu, please don't hurt me," Elizabeth heard a voice say.

"It's not up to me anymore, dolly. You're fate is in her hands," Stu replied.

"Barbie?" Elizabeth asked in a panicked voice as her eyes adjusted to the bright room. She ran over to her friend and grabbed her in a hug. "What did you do to her?" Elizabeth demanded, looking at Stu.

"She should know better than to fight back. She bit me," he replied with a shrug, "But if you don't marry me tomorrow then I will hurt her even more. She is going to be one of the witnesses that sign out marriage license. And if she doesn't sign it then I will hurt you."

"PJ and Heath are going to be looking for us. They aren't going to just sit there and do nothing," Elizabeth told him.

"That might be true, but you are going to change that. You are going to call them and tell them that you are fine, that both of you are fine. Then you are going to tell Heath that you don't want to be with him anymore and that you are going to marry me," he said with a laugh.

"And if I don't?" she countered.

"Then she suffers the consequences."

Elizabeth couldn't take time to think. She looked at Barbie with apologetic eyes and stood up.

"Fine, I'll do it. I'll call them," she said, giving in to him.

"I knew you'd do the right thing," Stu told her with a smirk on his face and handed her his phone. He watched as she searched through his contacts for her brother's number and pushed send. His smirk deepened when she put the phone to her ears and tears came to her eyes.

"PJ?" she said when he answered.

_Bee? Where are you?_

"I don't know, but I'm with Barbie. And, uh, we're fine," she told him with a shaky voice.

_Don't lie to me, I can hear it in your voice that you aren't. Are you safe?_

"Probably not but we're alive, so I guess that counts for something, right?" she said, trying to joke.

_This isn't the time to be funny Elizabeth. _

"I'm sorry, P. I have to go though. I'll see you soon, I promise."

_How soon?_

"I don't know. But I really do have to go," she said and hung up the phone. Stu looked annoyed as she looked for Heath's number next.

"Make it fast this time. That was too long," Stu told her and she nodded.

"Heath, I can't talk long. I just wanted you to know that I'm alright," she told him as soon as he answered.

_Bee, I'm with PJ. I heard everything you just told him._

"Okay, but you didn't hear this," she said crying, "I, uh, I don't want to be with you anymore. I'm marrying Stu tomorrow."

_No you are not. There is no way in hell I'm letting you marry that bastard._

"I have to. I'm sorry, Heath," she hung up the phone, not wanting to hurt him anymore, and sank to the floor holding her head in her hands.

"Bee, you didn't have to do that for me," Barbie whispered to her.

"Yes, I did. PJ would never have forgiven me if anything happened to you," Elizabeth whispered back.

Stu yanked Elizabeth up by her wrist, making her yelp in pain.

"It's time to go. We have things to do before our wedding tomorrow," he told her.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

"No!" Elizabeth screamed, sitting up right in her bed. She looked around the room in a panic.

"What's wrong?" Heath asked her.

"Barbie," was the only thing she could get out of her mouth.

She jumped out of her bed and searched desperately for her phone. Once she found it she dialed her best friends number and prayed that she would answer.

"Fuck," she yelled when the call went to voicemail. She dialed her brother's number next and her heart almost jumped out of her body when he answered.

"Hello?" he asked sleepily.

"Is Barbie with you?" she demanded.

"Bee? No, Barbie went to her apartment when we got to the airport last night. She said she had some things to do around there," he answered.

Elizabeth hung up the phone before he could say anything else. She grabbed the keys to Heaths truck and ran towards the front door.

"Liz, where are you going?" Heath asked as he followed her.

"Barbie's. I need to see if she's there," she answered in a panicked voice.

"Can't you just call her?"

"I tried, but she didn't answer. She isn't at PJ's either. I need to find her Heath," she told him.

"Okay, I'll drive. Why do you need to find her?" he replied as they got into his truck.

"He took her. He told me that if I didn't marry him then he was going to hurt her. She's in trouble Heath. I need to save her," Elizabeth said, her eyes weren't focused, as if she was looking into the distance.

"What are you talking about? How do you know he took her?" Heath asked her, with a worried look on his face. He tired to shake her a little bit to pull her out of the dream state she was still in.

"What?" she said turning her head to look at him.

"Barbie? How do you know Stu took her?" he said again.

"The dream. It was so real. I just need to see for my own eyes that she is all right. I can't take any risks right now," Elizabeth told him.

"Okay. We're almost there," Heath promised and just a few minutes later they pulled into the apartment complex where Barbie lived.

Elizabeth didn't even wait for Heath to fully stop before jumping out of the truck and running to Barbie's building and letting herself in. She ran to Barbie's apartment and knocked on the door as hard as she could until someone opened the door. She felt herself being pulled inside and the heard the door being locked and shut behind her.

"Barbie?" she whispered.

"Bee? What are you doing here?" Barbie whispered back.

"You're alright? I mean, you're alive? I mean, he didn't hurt you?" Elizabeth couldn't keep her thoughts straight. The only thing that mattered to her right now was that Barbie was safe. They both jumped when they heard a knock on the door.

"It's probably just Heath," Elizabeth told her, walking to the door to let him in.

"What are you guys doing here? It's 5:30 in the morning," Barbie asked them.

"I'm sorry. This is my fault, I had another nightmare. This time it felt so real and I needed to make sure that you were all right. I called first but you didn't answer your phone," Elizabeth explained.

"I can't find my phone right now. What was the nightmare about this time?" Barbie replied. Ever since Elizabeth had gotten out of Stu's grasp she'd been having nightmares about him pulling her back in.

"He kidnapped you. Then he kidnapped me. He told me that I was going to marry him and if I didn't then he was going to hurt you. He made me call Heath and PJ to tell them. I couldn't let him hurt you so I agreed," Elizabeth told them trying not to cry.

"Hey, we aren't going to let anything happen to either of you," Heath told her, "PJ and I are going to protect you and Barbie."

"I know. I guess I just feel safer when the four of us are together. I'm sorry that I overreacted. I'm sure that PJ is probably freaking out right now. I have to call him really quick," Elizabeth told them and she slipped into a different room.

"Heath, how is she doing?" Barbie asked quietly.

"I honestly don't know. We had a really long talk last night about it. I don't think she even knows how she's doing. She said that she can't she can't make any sense of her thoughts. I think she is still completely lost about everything," Heath told her.

"I'm worried about her. The nightmares aren't getting any better are they?"

"I thought they were. She hasn't had any that were this bad in a while. I don't know what brought it up. Maybe because we were talking about everything. She was so scared when she woke up. She wasn't making any sense she just kept asking where you were. It was like she was still dreaming or something," Heath explained.

Barbie just nodded as Elizabeth walked back into the living room of Barbie's apartment.

"I'm really sorry about this," she said quietly looking down at her feet.

"Don't be sorry. Girl, you need to stop apologizing all the time. You never used to do that," Barbie told her.

"I can't help it," Elizabeth responded, "I have to say sorry if I do something wrong."

"But you didn't do anything wrong, pretty girl," Heath said.

"I woke you up. I freaked out for nothing. I made you drive all the way over here. I scared you for nothing. I should have realized that it was a dream. That's what I did wrong, so I'm sorry," Elizabeth explained.

"Elizabeth Ann Lloyd, believe me when I say that you did nothing wrong," Heath told her sternly. She nodded her head but still didn't believe him. She had been stupid and acted on impulse. She was completely embarrassed and she just wanted to go home.

"I'm still sorry," she told Barbie, "We'll get out of your hair. I'm still kind of tired and I'm sure that you are too, B. Call me later please?"

"You don't have to leave, we can do breakfast or something," Barbie suggested.

"No, really. It's fine. PJ said that he was going to come over in a little bit anyway and I don't want to get in your guys way," Elizabeth insisted.

"Alright. I'll call you later. Be safe," Barbie told them as she waked them to the door of the apartment.

"We will be, Barbs. Get some sleep and we'll see you soon," Heath said giving her a hug before walking Elizabeth to his truck.

"I'm sorry Heath," Elizabeth started.

"No. Do not tell me you are sorry. I don't want to hear sorry come out of your pretty little mouth ever again. I don't care what you've done and I don't care how bad you feel. Sorry is no longer in your vocabulary. Do you understand?" Heath said, startling her.

"I have to," she told him quietly.

"You have to what?" he asked, his voice calmer.

"I have to say sorry," Elizabeth told him.

"Why? What makes you have to say sorry for everything?" he questioned.

"I have to because I'm scared," she admitted.

Heath looked at her but didn't say anything as they got into his truck and he drove back to her apartment. He was trying to figure out what to say. _Is she scared of me,_ he thought, _did I do something to make her think that she needed to apologize for every little thing she did?_ He was thoroughly confused as they arrived and walked back into her apartment.

"You're mad at me," Elizabeth stated as she walked in her kitchen.

"I'm not mad at you pretty girl," he assured her.

"But you're not talking, so you have to be mad," she repeated.

"No, I don't have to be mad. I'm confused," he told her.

"Why are you confused?" she asked.

"Are you scared of me?" he blurted out without thinking. She turned her back towards him because she couldn't look him in the eyes.

"I'm scared of everyone," she admitted, "I'm scared that if I do something wrong you'll turn on me in an instant. I'm scared that I'll push you away. I'm scared that you'll tell me to go back to him. I'm scared that everyone I know, everyone I've ever loved, is going to hurt me or leave me."

She was crying at this point but Heath couldn't move. She had just told him what he feared the most. _She is afraid of me_, he told himself.

"So, I'm sorry. I'm always going to be sorry because if I'm not then he hurts me. But then again he hurt me even when I told him that I was sorry. He hurt me even when I didn't do anything wrong. He through me into the shower that night in Reno because I didn't win my match. I didn't have any control over it, obviously. But he didn't care, he just wanted to hurt me," she rambled on, telling Heath of all the times he'd hurt her for no reason at all, "Then there was the time I made fun of his nose because of how crooked it was. I knew right away that I was going to pay for it. Heath and PJ and Barbie were laughing about it, which made him even madder. And the time that I told him to shove it when he yelled at me for walking to the bathroom too loud in the middle of the night. When I opened the door he was standing there and I was half asleep and he through me into the wall and then ripped my clothes off and he-"

"Elizabeth, snap out of it," Heath yelled at her. He didn't want to hear all of things Stu had done to her. It made him feel even worse for not being able to save her.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts before turning around to look at him.

"What?" she asked. She had obviously been overcome form the memories and temporarily blacked out from all of reality.

"You were just rambling on about the reasons that he hurt you," he explained.

"I was?" she asked and he nodded, "I'm sorry."

"Damn it, Elizabeth. Stop fucking apologizing," Heath yelled, making her jump, "I am not Stu Bennett. I am not going to through you into a shower. I am not going to through you into a wall. I am not going to rip your clothes off. And I most certainly am not going to rape you. I am not going to get angry at you for no reason."

She looked down at her feet, not knowing what to say. The only thing she could think of to say was that she was sorry but if she said that then he'd yell at her again.

"I know you aren't him," she told him.

"If you know that then why are you comparing me to him? Why are you comparing everyone else to him? You are so afraid that everyone is going to turn out like Stu that you wont give us a chance to not be like him," Heath said getting angry.

"So it is my fault. I did this," she told him. She wasn't asking him. She knew that it was the truth and no matter how many times he or PJ told her it wasn't her fault, she would always believe it was.

"No, that's not what I said. This, everything that Stu has done, none of it is your fault," Heath said, trying to backtrack everything he'd just said.

"But it is. You said that I push everyone to be like Stu. I turned him into the monster that he is today. I made him angry and cold," she replied, mostly to herself. Suddenly, it made sense.

"No, Liz. Don't do that to yourself. You didn't turn him into a monster, he did that all by himself," Heath said, trying to comfort her.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and shook her head. She ran to her room before Heath could say anything and grabbed her car keys. Heath was still standing in the kitchen when he heard the front door slam shut and went running after her. By the time he got out side, she was already in her car, pulling out of the parking lot.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

"Damn it," Heath yelled pulling his phone away from his ear and throwing it to the floor, "Where in the hell could she be?'

"Heath, you've got to calm down. We'll find her," PJ said trying to reassure his friend.

"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have said that she wouldn't give anyone a chance to not be like Stu," Heath muttered to himself, shaking his head.

They were sitting in PJ's car, driving around Tampa. All of the places they thought she'd be at turned up empty. She wasn't at the park by her house where she often ran to, she wasn't at the gym; it was like she disappeared.

"Look, let's go back to her apartment and see if she is there. She'll come back, she always does," PJ told him in a calm voice. He'd had to deal with her running away before and knew that the best thing to do right now was to stay calm.

"I don't know, PJ. You didn't see the look in her eyes. She kept telling me that it was her fault, everything that happened with Stu. She went off on me about how she was scared of everyone and then went off about everything he did. I couldn't stand it anymore and I, I yelled at her. I scared her," Heath admitted.

PJ shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts while driving back to Elizabeth's apartment. When they got there he called Barbie.

"Have you heard from her at all?" he asked, trying to keep the tone of vulnerability out of his voice.

"No, not yet. I'm so sorry Pauly," Barbie told him.

"It's okay. We'll keep looking," he hung up the phone and looked around the apartment, trying desperately to figure out where she could have gone, "If we were in Cape Town, she would have go to the barn."

He was talking to himself mostly. Heath had gone to walk through every room in the apartment, just to check if she was in one of them.

"Fuck," he yelled causing PJ to run to his sister's bedroom.

"What?"

"She must have come back when we weren't home. Her bags are gone and she swapped out her ring gear with new ones," Heath told him, pointing to the pile of dirty clothes lying on the bed, then to the empty dresser drawer.

"Did she leave a note? Anything to let us know that she was alright?" PJ asked desperately.

"I haven't found one yet," Heath responded, looking around the room, "Wait, yeah it's right here." He was pointing to the nightstand and looking at it like he was afraid to go near it because it had the plague or something. Justin walked over to it and picked up the note, looking at his sister's handwriting before reading it aloud.

"'I'm sorry that I took off like that. I just need to get some air and think for a while. Please, stop calling me Heath. I love you but I need, well honestly I don't really know what I need. I'm sorry that I freaked out on you and I'm sorry that I made you yell at me. And now reading this over, I know you're going to be mad again at me for saying sorry. But I'm sorry again. I know that's making you angry so I'm just going to say I love you. I'll see you at the arena on Monday for the house show. Don't look for me; I'm safe, I promise. –Bee.' You got mad at her for saying sorry?" PJ asked as he looked up from the note.

"She says it too much. She apologizes when she does absolutely nothing wrong. I couldn't take it anymore. This isn't her. Before she wouldn't care about the little things, she would just flash that cute 'oh shit' grin and everything would be fine. Now she doesn't even smile, nothing. I want my pretty girl back," Heath told him, "I need my pretty girl back."

"God, Heath. She's fragile right now. This is what she does. She's pushing you away to see if you truly care. I know you do, but right now she's hurting and she can't see that you do. I've been there, man. She pushed me away for almost 5 years before I got her back, and then I didn't even get her fully back. The only times I could get her all the way back was in the ring. It wasn't until we got here that she was herself," PJ explained.

"So what are you saying? That it's going to take almost 10 years for her to be herself again? She needs to talk about things, Paul. She can't just keep this to herself and walk around like nothing is wrong. If she does she'll break down. Hell she's already breaking down," Heath shouted.

"Look, I don't know how long this is going to take. I'm just telling you that she needs you to reassure her that you aren't going to leave her. I didn't do that when we were younger because I was selfish and I was focusing on my career, not my baby sister. She needs you Heath," PJ said, trying to calm his best friend down.

"What if I can't do it? What if I'm not good enough for her? What if I can't be strong enough for her?" Heath asked.

"Don't discourage yourself now Heath. Don't second-guess yourself. You are her rock, you brought her back before and you can bring her back this time. I'll help you as much as I can but I'm not the one she's leaning on this time. I know that you wont fail her. I trust you with my baby sister," PJ told him.

###

She didn't know where she was going. She just knew she had to get away. She couldn't go to her brother because that's the first place Heath would look and she couldn't go to Barbie because that's the second place they would look. She had no one. She'd gone back to her apartment when she knew they'd be out looking for her and packed her bags for the next tour.

"It's Saturday," she said to herself, "I don't have to be there until Monday. I just need to find somewhere to stay until I drive out Sunday night."

She drove around Tampa, staying away from her normal favorite places. At first she didn't recognize any of the neighborhoods she was driving through, just turning whenever she felt like it. That brought her to the house she was parked in front of right now. She didn't know if PJ and Heath had told him that she was missing, so she was slightly apprehensive to go inside. She leaned back against the headrest and closed her eyes, debating her options. _I can either go inside and risk him calling them, or I can leave right now and get a hotel. Or I could just head to Atlanta early, check in at the hotel there. _

She was brought out of her thoughts by a loud knock that startled her and made her jump. When she opened her eyes she saw the Scotsman looking at her through the window nervously. She opened the door and got out of her car slowly.

"Liz, what are ya doin' here?" he asked her hesitantly.

"I don't really know. Have you talked to Heath and PJ recently?" she asked him.

"No, no' today. Why? Is somethin' the matter?" His eyes showed the worry he had for her.

"I, um, I-" she tried to find the right words to explain to him what happened, "Heath and I kind of got into an argument, I think. And I kind of ran away."

"Do they know that ya're here?"

"Please, don't call them. I need some time to breathe. I feel like I'm suffocating and, look I know it's my fault, but I can't stand it," she told him.

"Ya should go back to 'em. They're probably worried sick lookin' for ya," he told her with a slightly scolding tone.

"I can't. Not right now. I need some time to clear my head; I need some time to think about what he said. I was wondering if I could stay here, just until tomorrow when I have to drive to Atlanta for the house show," she explained to him.

"I would love to let ya stay, Liz. But I don't think I can. At least not without tellin' 'em where ya are," he responded, "I'm sorry, I just don't think it's right for ya to just hide out when they are worried."

"No, it's fine. I understand. I guess I'll see you on Monday then," she said, getting back into her car.

"Where are ya gonna go?" he asked with concern in his eyes.

"I don't know, but I'll text you and let you know that I'm safe," Elizabeth told him before shutting the door and pulling away from his house.

She drove around again, not paying attention to where she was and what neighborhood she was driving through when she almost ran into a familiar looking man. She slammed on her breaks and looked around at the condo's on either side of her before realizing where she was. _You can't stay here,_ she thought to herself. But against her better judgment she pulled into the driveway and watched as the man she almost hit walked up to her with a snide grin on his face.

"I knew you'd come back for more," he said when he got close enough to grab her by the waist and into a tight hug.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

"What the hell am I doing here?" Elizabeth said out loud.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, not that I'm complaining or anything," Stu said with a smirk, "I didn't think the morons would let you out of their sight."

"Don't call them morons Stu," Elizabeth responded.

"Well let's not argue. We should get inside. Then we can discuss what you're doing here, willingly," he told her, pulling her into his condo and locking the door behind them.

"Its no use locking it, PJ knows where you keep the spare key," she announced without thinking about where she was or whom she was talking about, "I really shouldn't be here."

"Then why are you?" he asked her.

"I got into an argument with Heath, kind of, and I left. Drew wouldn't let me stay at his house without telling PJ and Heath so I just drove around and then I almost hit you, not exactly sure what stopped me though," she answered.

"And you think I wont tell them that you are here?" he looked at her as she thought about his question before nodding, "Well then. This little temporary stay is going to cost you."

"What do you mean?" she asked trying keep the fear out of her voice.

"I'm not just going to stay silent without some kind of payment. You sent me off without pay for 2 months remember. You owe me, love," Stu told her, his accent stronger than usual.

"I shouldn't be here. I'm going to leave," she said, realizing how much trouble she put herself.

"Actually I think you should be here. If you leave then I'll tell them you came here, willingly. And I'll tell them about the times you called me when I was gone, apologizing for getting me in trouble. I don't think that'll make them very happy," he threatened.

She turned away from him and walked into his kitchen, knowing he'd follow her. She suddenly couldn't think. She tried to ask herself why she'd pulled into the driveway after she told herself not to. It didn't make any sense to her. Until she remembered what Heath had said.

"It's my fault," she muttered.

"What's that, love?" Stu asked

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He grabbed her by the arm and turned her around to face him. He wanted her to look into his eyes when she was apologizing to him. He wanted to make her feel small.

"Look me in the eyes. Prove to me that you're sorry," he demanded.

"Stu, please don't make me do this," she begged him quietly.

"Don't make you do this?" he yelled, "Have you forgotten everything you've done to me? First, you seduce me into loving you and then you turn around and tell me you don't want to marry me. Then you make me almost lose my job, my career, my whole life Elizabeth. Now I ask one thing, one damn thing, and you wont do it. You're a selfish bitch."

"What do you want me to do?" she asked weakly.

He laughed to himself knowing he'd won as he walked closer to her. Her eyes grew wide the closer he got but her feet were frozen to the spot. Stu pulled her to his chest and held her there tightly, wrapping his arms around her body.

"Marry me," he whispered in her ear.

"No," she told him shaking her head, trying to push him away, "I won't marry you. It'll never, ever happen. I will not hurt Heath like that."

"Why the hell not? What does that stupid redneck have anything to do with you marrying me?" Stu demanded, pushing her to the ground. She looked up at him, again cursing herself for not driving away.

"You hurt me, all the time. You hit me, you throw me into things, and you kick me. And that 'stupid redneck' just so happens to be the man that I love more than anything in this world. I've hurt him too much when it comes to you, I will not do it any more," she shouted at him as she stood up from the floor.

"I hurt you when you deserve it and you know that. You love him? How the hell could you love that? I was your first, you love me," he told her.

"No one deserves to be thrown around and hit and kicked like a rag doll Stu. Yes, I love him. I love him because he is honest. I love him because he cares about me. I love him because he is a good person. I love him because he knows exactly what I need and when I need it. I love him because he protects me," Elizabeth said.

Stu had heard enough. He grabbed her by her arms and pushed her into the sink. His whole body was leaning against hers making her bend backwards onto the counter at a weird angle. She pushed at him with everything she had but he didn't budge.

"Fine, if you wont marry me, then you will have sex with me. That is how you are going to prove that you are sorry. I want you to take all of your clothes off now. Starting with your shirt," he said through gritted teeth.

When she didn't move his eyes got even angrier, as if that were possible. He moved away from her but grabbed her arms again before throwing her across the kitchen. She flew into the wall, wishing she'd landed a few more inches to the right so that she could have missed the wall and landed on the floor in the living room. She slid to the floor and curled up into a ball trying to keep herself from crying.

"I said take your shirt off," he yelled at her.

"I can't," she whispered.

"Can't? Or wont?" he asked her, getting angrier by the second.

"Both."

He walked over to her and pulled her up by her hair, smiling when she cried out in pain.

"It's because of him isn't it? You wont have sex with me because you're afraid that he'll be angry," he shouted.

"He will be angry. He'll hate me forever and I can't deal with that. Stu, I love him," she cried.

"That's not my problem. This is how you are going to prove that your weak apology is sincere," he repeated.

He threw her again, this time into the living room where she landed on the floor. She looked up to see him walking towards her, with the scariest look she'd ever seen on his face.

"Okay, okay. I'll do it," she said, holding her hands in front of her face as she lay on the floor with him standing over her.

"You'll do what?" he asked.

"I'll sleep with you."

He held is hand out to her and pulled her off the floor and to her feet before cupping his hands to her face.

"I knew you'd see it my way. I knew you missed my body as much as I missed yours," he said against her lips, "Now, let's go to my room and you can take your clothes off, then mine."


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Elizabeth wanted nothing more than to cry. She did everything he asked, she took off her clothes and she took off his clothes. Then she kissed down his body and put his cock in her mouth. He painfully thrust himself into her mouth so that his tip was touching the back of her throat. The only time she cried out in pain was when he threw her on the bed and planted himself in her unready core. Every time he pulled out and thrust back in, she felt like someone was stabbing her but she bit her lip to keep quiet. When he finally got his release he pulled out and rolled off of her before falling asleep. The only thing she wanted was to get away from him and take a shower. She tried to get up but he wrapped his large arm around her body and pulled her closer to him. She didn't sleep all night, just waiting for him to let her go. When he finally rolled over it was 7:30 in the morning. She slowly got out of his bed and put her clothes back on. The pain returned as she walked down stairs and through the living room, towards the front door. She had her hand on the doorknob when she heard him walking down the steps.

"Where do you think you are going?" he demanded as he walked closer to her.

"Away," she turned the handle, opened the door, and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

She practically ran to her car and pulled out of his driveway. She turned her phone on and plugged the address to the hotel they were going to be staying at in Atlanta. She would be getting there a little early but she didn't know where else to go. She wanted to take a shower but she couldn't go to her apartment because Heath would be waiting there. She knew he would stay there until the absolute last second before getting into PJ's Escalade and they'd arrive just in the nick of time for the house show. She couldn't go to PJ's because he'd call Heath and he'd ask her questions. She couldn't call Barbie because she would call them both. The last person she could have possibly gone to had already turned her away, leaving her with no choice.

"This will give you some time to clear your head," she told herself, "You can figure out what you're going to say to them. And you can figure out how in the hell you're going to tell Heath that you cheated on him. Again."

She shook her head, wanting to clear her thoughts as she got on the highway and drove. Driving always made her clear her mind because it required concentration and music. She was so focused on the road and the music she was listening to that she didn't realize the truck that had gotten on the highway just after her, keeping a decent amount of distance away from her car.

###

Heath looked down at his ringing phone and then to the clock on his dashboard.

"Shoot, PJ. I totally forgot to call you," he answered.

"Man, where are you? Barbie and I were getting worried," PJ told him.

"Well, I was heading back but I found her and I started following her," Heath replied.

"You found who exactly?"

"Liz." Heath stared at the blue ford that was a few cars in front of him.

"That is borderline creepy," PJ told him.

"I think she's already going to Atlanta. Do you think you can get some stuff from my house? Or just grab those bags I left at Liz's?" Heath asked, ignoring his comment.

"Yeah, I can do that. Have you been able to talk to her?" PJ asked.

"No, not yet. I haven't decided if I'm going to stop when she does or just drive straight through and surprise her at the hotel. What do you think?" Heath said.

"I don't know. She doesn't like surprises, you know that. So either way, she might be upset," PJ replied.

"I know. I just need to see her. If I'm at the hotel I can just say that I was waiting for her and I wasn't trying to surprise her," Heath suggested.

"That might work, you'll just have to drive faster than her. She might not stop," PJ told him.

"I'm passing her right now and she didn't even look over at me. I'll call you when I'm at the hotel. When are you guys leaving?" Heath replied.

"In an hour or so," PJ said.

"Alright, I'll see you later."

Heath hung up the phone, looking in his rearview mirror. He couldn't see her face clearly but he could tell she was upset and it broke his heart. He didn't know where she went last night but it wasn't with him. He hadn't slept, just hoping she'd come home. They'd gotten call from Drew that she stopped there but he wouldn't let her stay without telling them where she was. Then she disappeared, again. He was worried all night long, but PJ had sent him out to get him and Barbie breakfast. He didn't want to go but at this moment he was happy he did. He was sitting at the restaurant waiting for his food when he saw a deep blue Ford Taurus at the gas station. He almost choked on his drink when he saw her walking out of the building and getting in her car. As soon as he got his food he sped out of the parking lot and followed her to the highway.

As he drove Heath tried to think of what he was going to say to her when she saw him. He kept a safe distance in front of her but made sure she was always in sight. When she got off at a rest area he slightly panicked. He wanted to stop with her but he knew she'd freak out. The best idea was to speed up and go to the hotel.

The drive was long and boring, but he kept himself busy with his thoughts. He was cursing himself for yelling at Elizabeth. He was trying to figure out what he was going to say to her. He was remembering all of the times they had before Stu started hurting her. He was seeing Elizabeth, in his arms, smiling and laughing. He smiled to himself at the good times they'd had and wished for them back.

When he finally got to the hotel he only wanted to sleep, but he couldn't sleep until he had Elizabeth in his arms. He couldn't sleep until he knew she wasn't mad at him. He couldn't sleep until he knew that she was going to be okay. It was 2 in the afternoon and he hadn't seen her since she stopped at the rest area. He knew she'd be arriving within in the hour so he quickly checked himself in and waited in the lobby.

He was watching out the front doors when he saw her car pulling into the parking lot and he let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He walked deeper into the lobby, away from the doors and the front desk, as she got out of her car and handed the keys to the valet. He could see her face and she looked so broken, she was smiling but it wasn't reaching her eyes. It stabbed at his heart to see her like this. Heath watched as she walked to the front desk with her suitcases trailing behind her.

"Hi, I was wondering if I could check in. I know we aren't supposed to be here for a few hours, but I was hoping that I could still check in. If not, that's totally fine, I'll just wait at a restaurant or something," he heard Elizabeth ask the man at the front desk.

"Oh, don't worry about that Ms Lloyd. I just need your driver's license and your credit card. You actually aren't the first one here," the guy told her as she handed him the cards.

"Really? Who else is here? I might see if I can have lunch with them," Elizabeth asked him sweetly.

"Me," Heath said as he walked up to her.

She turned to look towards the voice, but her smile faded when she saw him. The look on her face wasn't at all what Heath had expected. He watched her facial expression change from the fake smile to broken again in less than a second. Her eyes filled with tears and she looked away.

"Here you are. This is you're room key. Are you expecting to be rooming with someone?" the man asked, handing her the material.

"I'm not sure. But thank you very much," Elizabeth told him before walking away to find the elevator.

Heath followed her at a slower pace and when he turned the corner to go down the hallway where the elevator was he watched her. She was punching the button continuously.

"If you hit it too many times, it'll get stuck," Heath warned her in a quiet voice.

"That only happens if you're inside the elevator," she whispered back, not trusting her voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you. Look, pretty girl, I am so sorry about what I said. I didn't mean any of it. I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I said it. I'm sorry that I yelled at you. I need you to look at me, I need you to forgive me," he begged.

The elevator opened and they stepped in together. Elizabeth pushed the button for the 8th floor where her room was going to be. She took a deep breath before looking at him, tears still in her eyes.

"I'm sorry too. And I do forgive you. But I have to tell you something and I know you'll never forgive me for what I did. I've been trying to figure out how to say this since I got on the highway this morning," she tried to compose herself as she looked away from him and up to the floor numbers changing quickly.

"Hey, you don't know that I wont forgive you. I love you with all of my heart. There is nothing you could ever do to change that," he promised her.

The elevator dinged, signaling that they had arrived to the 8th floor and tears fell from her eyes. She stepped out of the elevator slightly and looked back at him.

"Yes, there is. After I say this you are never going to talk to me again, so I'll tell you right now. I'm sorry, for everything and I love you, more than you know," she told him, "But last night, I made a mistake. After Drew turned me away I was driving around and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I ended up at the one place I never should have gone and I did something I promised myself I wouldn't do."

"Liz, what are you talking about?" Heath said, taking a step towards her.

"I'm so, so sorry. I had sex with him last night," she cried quietly.

Heath watched as she ran to her hotel room and slammed the door shut. He was frozen to the spot as the elevator doors closed in front of his face and took him down to the first floor. He walked to the bar inside the restaurant and asked for a drink.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

As soon as Elizabeth got into her hotel room she lost it. She fell to the floor and let the sobs take over her body. When she finally got her self somewhat calmed down she took all of her clothes off and got in the shower. She wanted to wash herself from everything that had happened the past few days. She was completely disgusted with herself and she felt dirty. She tried hard to keep it together but she ended up crying again. She couldn't stand anymore so she sat on the floor of the shower, letting the water fall down on her.

###

When PJ and Barbie arrived at the hotel they already knew that Heath and Elizabeth were there. They went straight to the front desk to ask for keys to their rooms.

"Hi, my name is Barbie Blank and I think I'm going to room with Elizabeth Lloyd. She got her a few hours ago and I don't want to disturb her if she's busy. Can I please get a room key to her room?" Barbie asked.

"And, I'm PJ Lloyd. I'm planning on rooming with Heath Miller," PJ told the guy at the front desk.

"Elizabeth is in room 803, here is your room key Ms Blank. And Heath is currently in the hotel bar, however you two are in room 805. They happen to be connecting rooms," the guy responded.

"Is Elizabeth at the bar with Heath?" Barbie asked.

"No ma'am. I haven't seen her come down since they went upstairs together."

"Alright, thank you very much," PJ said as the walked away, "I'll go check on Heath. You find my sister, text me to let me know she's safe."

Barbie walked down the hallway towards the elevator and PJ turned to go the other way towards the bar. He knew that something had to be wrong for them to be apart. When he saw Heath sitting at the bar nursing a glass and saw the look on his face, he thought that maybe Elizabeth had gotten mad that he showed up early.

"Hey man, why the long face?" PJ asked him as he sat down next to him.

"When you said she'd try to push me away, how far away are we talking?" Heath asked his friend.

"I don't know. Was she mad that you were here when she got here?" PJ responded.

"No. PJ, I don't know if I can do this anymore. I can't keep letting her rip my heart out if she isn't going to be able to help me put it back together," Heath admitted.

"Heath, what happened?"

"She went to him last night, after Drew turned her away. She slept with him last night," Heath told him as his voice shook, "Damn it, PJ. She went to him willingly, and had sex with him willingly. Tell me how to wrap my head around that, because right now I'm having a pretty fucking hard time with it."

"Wait, what? She went to who last night?" PJ asked.

"Stu."

"No. She wouldn't do that. She- she knows better than that. She loves you," PJ said not believing that his sister would actually go to Stu.

"Then she had sex with someone else last night. But by the way she was talking I'm pretty sure that it was Stu. She told me that she ended up at the one place she never should have gone and she did something she promised herself she wouldn't do. Then she said 'I had sex with him last night'. Now tell me that she was fucking talking about him," Heath explained, trying to keep his voice level.

"Maybe she meant that she went to a bar and had a random hook up," PJ said, trying to convince himself that Elizabeth wasn't stupid enough to go to Stu.

"If she had gone to a bar last night, do you think she would have been up before 8 this morning and driving here?" Heath asked, raising his voice and then quieting a little bit, "I- I don't know if I can do this anymore, PJ. I love your sister with all of my heart. But this might have been the last straw. I'm not sure that I can be with her after this, man."

"Heath, you don't seriously mean that. You've been drinking. I mean, come on, think about what you just said," PJ reasoned.

"Smell this, does this smell like alcohol to you?" Heath asked shoving his glass under PJ's nose, "It's water. I haven't been drinking anything. My head is perfectly clear right now."

"No it's not. It's being clouded by hurt. Once you get over this, you'll regret leaving her," PJ told him.

"Once I get over this? PJ are you fucking listening to yourself right now? There is no getting over this. This isn't the first time she's cheated on me. It's the second time and both times it was with Stu. Ya know, the guy she used to love, the guy who took her virginity, the guy who proposed to her. I can't just move on after this, I can't forget this, not this time. She pushed too far," Heath yelled before standing up and walking away.

###

Barbie got off the elevator and cautiously walked to the room she was going to be sharing with Elizabeth. Like PJ she knew something had to be wrong if Heath was sitting alone at the bar. She first knocked on the hotel door but when she didn't get an answer she unlocked it and walked in. She heard the shower running and then she heard Elizabeth crying. Barbie lightly knocked on the bathroom door.

"Bee? Are you okay in there?" Barbie asked.

"I, uh, I don't think so," Elizabeth told her honestly, "I'll be out in a minute though."

Elizabeth didn't know how long she'd been sitting in the shower but the hot water had long since gone cold. She slowly stood up and turned the shower off before stepping out of it and wrapping a towel around her freezing body. When she walked out of the bathroom she couldn't make eye contact with Barbie. Walking to her suitcase she opened it up and found a pair of black sweat pants and one of Heath's sweatshirts and put them on.

"Bee, what's wrong? You know you can talk to me about anything," Barbie said.

"I don't want you to hate me. Heath already does. Please don't make me tell you tonight," Elizabeth begged her.

"Heath doesn't hate you. He couldn't hate you. PJ is downstairs talking to him right now," Barbie tried to reassure her friend.

"I- I can't do this, Barbie. Heath hates me and my brother hates me. I don't think I can handle it if you hated me too," Elizabeth told her.

"Liz, stop. You aren't making any sense," Barbie said trying to reason with her, "Where did you go last night after Drew's?"

"You're going to hate me if I tell you because if I answer that question it wont give you the whole story. I should have told Heath the whole story. But he'd still hate me," Elizabeth replied.

"Then tell me the whole story. I'm not going to hate you, you are my best friend and I'm not going anywhere," Barbie told her.

Barbie sat on the bed with Elizabeth as she listened intently. She nodded when she needed too and gasped slightly at the details and gasped louder when she saw the bruises. Elizabeth started crying all over again when she finally got to the end.

"I made a huge mistake last night. I didn't know where to go. I didn't want to be around Heath and PJ but Drew wouldn't let me stay. I'm not blaming him for this though. I am totally placing all of this on me. I was wrong and now I have to deal with the consequences," Elizabeth admitted when she calmed down.

"That's just it, Bee. It was a mistake, but you were also forced into it. He forced you to sleep with him. He knew that you were vulnerable and he took advantage of that. You cannot blame yourself for that," Barbie reminded her.

"Yes, but I went there willingly. I pulled into his driveway instead of driving away. I let him hurt me, I let him control me, and I let him win. This isn't the first time I cheated on Heath with Stu. Last time we didn't sleep together, but we almost did. Heath forgave me, but I don't think he can this time. I don't think I'm worth it. I don't trust myself to be with Heath and not break his heart," Elizabeth explained, "I don't know what I'm suppose to do anymore."

"Elizabeth, I am going to ask you this one question and I want you to look into my eyes and answer it honestly. Do you understand?" Barbie asked, waiting for Elizabeth to nod, "Good. Now, who are you in love with? Heath Miller or Stu Bennett?"

"Heath Miller," Elizabeth told her without missing a beat.

"Then do something about it. The boys are staying in the room next door," Barbie informed her.

Just as she was saying that they heard the door to the room next door slam shut and heard Heath's unmistakable southern accent.

'I fucking hate her!" he yelled.

Elizabeth looked at Barbie, shook her head, and started crying again.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

The next morning Barbie left Elizabeth in their room without telling her where she was going. She closed the door and walked the short distance to PJ and Heaths room before she banged on the door as loud as she could. A very groggy looking PJ answered.

"Well, good morning," he said as he opened the door. She didn't answer him but pushed past him and walked straight over to where Heath was apparently sleeping. "I wouldn't wake him up if I were you. I think he got totally trashed last night after he came back to the room." PJ warned.

"Then all the more reason to wake his selfish son of a bitch ass up," Barbie yelled as she grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and poured the contents on Heath's sleeping body.

"What the hell?" he yelled, "Barbie are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck was that for?"

"That was for being a fucking ass hole," she told him.

"I'm a fucking asshole? Says the dumb bitch who just poured a bottle of freezing cold water on me while I was sleeping," Heath said, still yelling.

"Yeah well I have good reason to dump a bottle of freezing cold water on you. Would you like to know the reason ass face?" she prompted.

"Not really, but knowing you, you're going to tell me anyway," Heath muttered.

"First of all, where the hell do you get off yelling that you fucking hate Elizabeth? Do you realize that these walls aren't thick? We are in the room next door and we heard what you said," Barbie started.

"Where do I get off? If you knew what happened then we wouldn't be having this conversation," Heath spat at her.

"No, if you knew the whole damn story then we wouldn't be having this conversation. Sadly, it's not my story to tell but so help me God, Heath Miller. If you ever say anything like that again I will cut your balls off with my own hands," she yelled at him, "And secondly, why in the hell would you not ask her the full story? You know here a hell of a lot better than to believe that she willingly slept with him. You are the reason she left in the first place, you are the reason she disappeared. It was you and your big mouth that caused this fucking dilemma. So you need to get off your fucking high horse and accept the fact that you pushed her to him."

Heath started to speak but Barbie held her hand up, signaling that she was finished with the conversation. She turned on her heel and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She walked back to the room she shared with Elizabeth and closed the door behind her. Elizabeth was sitting up in her bed with a tear-stained face.

"Why did you do that?" Elizabeth asked her. Barbie couldn't tell if she was upset or not because she looked devoid of all emotion.

"Because he needs to know the truth. And he needs to accept responsibility. It was his words that made you run away in the first place. You may have made a mistake, but if he knew the full story, the abuse and the manipulation, he wouldn't be such an ass about it," Barbie told her.

"I don't deserve you, did you know that? I'm a horrible person, but you've been so good to me. I'm sorry that I did this, I'm sorry that I hurt you and I'm sorry that I've disappointed you," Elizabeth said.

"You are not a horrible person. People make mistakes. You haven't hurt me or disappointed me," Barbie said as she sat next to Elizabeth on the bed, "Bee, look at me. You are the best friend I've ever had in my entire life and I know that you would have done the same thing for me."

Elizabeth was about to respond but the knock on the door stopped her. She looked at Barbie who shrugged her shoulders before getting up and looked through the peephole. Barbie took one more look at Elizabeth and a deep breath before opening the door.

"If you've come to be a complete jackass you can leave before you even speak," Barbie announced to the apparently unwelcome visitor.

"I'm not here to talk to you Barbs. Elizabeth and I need to talk, alone," the voice immediately made Elizabeth relax. It wasn't angry just then. It was the only voice that could ever make her feel safe; the only voice that had made her happy with just one syllable was spoken.

"I don't trust you to be alone with her right now," Barbie told him simply.

"I'm not Stu, Barbie," Heath said. Suddenly it was angry, and she didn't feel safe any more.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't what I was implying. I just don't think you should be around her when you're so angry," Barbie explained.

"Please," Elizabeth said, shocking the both of them; they hadn't realized that she had joined them at the door, "Let him in."

Barbie nodded, "I'm going to get breakfast. Do you two want anything?"

They both shook their heads and watched Barbie close the door behind her. They stood in an awkward silence for a few minutes. Elizabeth turned to sit on the bed and Heath followed but sat in the chair across the room. She broke the silence but it only made him angrier.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"That is not what I want to hear right now Elizabeth," Heath responded.

"I don't know what else to say though," Elizabeth told him.

"How about you tell me the whole story? The one that Barbie was implying I hadn't heard but she had. The one that supposedly changes how I feel about you right now," Heath said coldly.

"Can I ask you how you feel about me right now first?" Elizabeth asked him.

"No. I'm not answering any of your questions until you tell me what the hell happened yesterday. Right now you don't deserve to know how I'm feeling. You lost that right when you cheated. If this story changes that, then you might gain that right back, but right now I can't trust you with my feelings," Heath told her.

"I don't deserve you at all," she said quietly.

"I'll be the judge on that. Tell me the damn story before I change my mind," he said, impatiently.

"What you said, about me pushing everyone to be like him, it really hurt me. The only thing I could think of was that it was my fault. Everything that he did to me, the hitting, the kicking, the rape, it was because I made him angry so I deserved it," Elizabeth started to explain slowly.

"This is the part I already know," Heath muttered under his breath.

"But this is where it begins," she begged him.

"Fine, continue," he said snottily.

"I left because I didn't want to push you to be like him. I didn't want to turn you into the same monster that I turned him into. So I ran and I hid. I didn't go to any of the places I knew you would look but I stayed close to my apartment so that I could get my things when you weren't there. I drove around after that, just spent the whole day driving. It was getting late and I didn't know where I was until I saw Drew and Taryn's house. I told myself that I had two options: I could either go inside or I could drive straight here. Now that I think about it, I should have driven straight here," she said, thinking aloud.

"So you cheated on me with Drew?" Heath asked, now confused more than ever.

"No, no, no, no, no. Silly, Drew is married," Elizabeth told him matter-of-factly.

"Yeah well you were suppose to be in love with me, but that didn't stop you," Heath responded.

"I deserve that," Elizabeth said and he nodded, "But if you want to hear this then you can't keep interrupting me."

"If I want to interrupt you with questions because I'm confused then I'm going to do it. I'm not going to sit here and listen to you talking aimlessly and be confused," Heath told her.

"Okay, I'm sorry," she replied.

"Damn it. I swear, do not say those two words to me right now Elizabeth. I'm not going to listen to you say it over and over again," he said angrily, when she looked down at the floor he almost felt bad, "Are you going to go on with your story or should I leave?"

"No, please don't leave," she begged, "I sat in my car for a few minutes, but Drew must have seen that I was there because he came outside and knocked on my window. I got out and asked him if I could stay but I didn't tell him why. He told me that I couldn't stay unless I told you and PJ where I was, but I didn't want you guys to come find me. I just wanted to be alone. So I got back in my car and drove away. I got lost again and I only realized where I was because I almost hit Stu with my car. I shouldn't have slammed on my brakes, but I didn't know who it was until I stopped. I told myself to keep driving but I pulled into his driveway instead."

Elizabeth stopped to take a breath. This was the part of the story she regretted most. It was the part that had gotten her in trouble.

"So you did go there willingly?" Heath asked.

"I'm not sure how much detail you want me to go into at this point. I don't know what I should tell you and what I shouldn't," Elizabeth told him, ignoring his question.

"Did you walk into that man's house willingly or not?" Heath shouted.

"He pulled me inside. I don't know if you would consider that willingly, but the bruise on my arm suggests that it wasn't," she responded.

"Just keep talking. So far, this story isn't really making me change my mind," he informed her.

"How much detail do you want me to go into? I don't want you to get even madder at me than you already are. I just need to know how I should edit this," she asked him.

"Don't edit. Just tell me what the fuck happened," he told her.

"I somewhat explained how I ended up there and he asked if I thought he wouldn't tell you and PJ where I was and I told him yes. I knew that he wasn't stupid enough to call you and tell you that I was there. He told me that it would cost me. I swear to you Heath, I told him that I wanted to leave, I told him that I didn't want to be there anymore," she pleaded.

"Then why didn't you?" he demanded.

"Because he threatened to tell you something that I did when he was suspended for those two months," she admitted.

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better," he said sarcastically, "What the fuck did you do this time?"

"I felt bad that he wasn't getting paid for those two months, so I called and apologized to him. A few times. You don't understand, Heath. You didn't go through what I went through with him. If you did then you would know why I have to apologize for things, even when I didn't do anything wrong," she told him when he started to stand up to leave, "Please don't leave. This next part is the part that Barbie thinks will make you reconsider hating me."

"Then by all means, continue with this riveting story. I'm completely captivated," sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"I walked away from him and I tried to figure out what made me pull into his driveway. Then I remembered what you had said to me earlier that day. The stuff that triggered my realization that I did this to myself. I hurt him so I deserved to be hurt in return. When I apologized to him he told me to prove it, I asked him how and he told me to marry him. But I told him no. I told him that I wouldn't do that to you because I couldn't break your heart anymore. He wasn't happy about that, he wasn't happy about the fact that I love you," Elizabeth explained further.

"Well all of that is just fine and dandy, but that doesn't explain the fact that you had sex with him," he pointed out.

Elizabeth took another deep breath before continuing, "When I told him that I wouldn't marry him, he told me that the only other way to prove to him that I was sorry was by having sex with him. He told me to take my shirt off but I didn't and he got mad. He threw me into the wall in his kitchen next to the doorway to the living room."

"I don't really care to know the details about exactly where in his house he threw you," Heath told her, when he saw the pained look on Elizabeth's face he changed his tone, "Are you alright? Did he break anything?"

"I'm not alright, but I don't think he broke anything. I have a pretty nasty bruise though. And another one on my ass from where he threw me to the floor when I told him that I couldn't have sex with him, again because of you. I told him that you'd be angry with me and that you'd hate me forever. When he walked up to me after he threw me into the living room, I was so scared. I couldn't fight him anymore. The look in his eyes told me that I either have sex with him or he was going to kill me. So I gave in, and it hurt. It hurt badly. I tried to get away from him when he was done but he held onto me until 7:30 in the morning. I got out of there as fast as I possibly could," she was crying again.

The sobs rocked her body. She couldn't look him in his face because she didn't deserve to. She didn't deserve him because she was just going to end up turning him into a monster. She knew he stood up and that he was walking, but she figured that he was leaving. It was what she deserved. She had cheated once again and she had completely broken him.

"Why didn't you tell me the whole story last night?" he asked, his voice calmer know.

"Because I knew it wouldn't make a difference. Cheating is cheating, no exceptions," Elizabeth replied.

"Rape isn't cheating," he told her.

"It isn't rape unless someone says no. I didn't say no, I said yes."

"I'm not going to argue with you about this. I need to go clear my mind and you need to eat something," Heath said, "Do me a favor, stay the fuck away from Stu. If we need to, we'll block his number and we'll get yours changed."

"Can I ask you questions now?" she asked, finally meeting his eyes to see his response when he nodded she asked, "Do you think you can ever forgive me?"

"I don't know. That's why I need to clear my head. I'll have Barbs bring something up for you to eat," he told her as he walked towards the door, stopping to look at her one last time, "I'll always love you, pretty girl. But you've really hurt me."

He walked out and closed the door behind him, not waiting for her response. She sat on the bed staring at the door.

"I'll always love you too, handsome."

She lied down in the bed, pulled the covers over her head, and cried herself back to sleep.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

"Barbie, I don't know what to do anymore," Elizabeth announced sadly, "It's been two weeks and he still won't talk to me. He barely looks at me. He wont let me apologize to him. Please tell me what to do."

These past two weeks had probably been the worst two weeks of Elizabeth's life. She was hurting and the only person who could make it go away wasn't speaking to her.

"Why don't you try talking to him about something else?" Barbie suggested.

"I have. Tonight when he got back to the locker room after his match with PJ, we were alone. I told him he did a good job but he just grunted at me. Then he acted like I wasn't even in the room," Elizabeth told her.

"Well, at least he acknowledged you."

"This isn't a joke, B. I need him to talk to me," Elizabeth whined then she gasped, "I just had an amazing idea. Can you ask PJ to get in here?"

Barbie nodded with a confused look on her face. They were sitting in their hotel room, having just got back from the Smackdown taping. Barbie was ready for bed and Elizabeth was in the process when Barbie texted her boyfriend to join them in their room. The knock on the door brought Elizabeth out of her thoughts and she opened the door for him.

"Whoa, Elizabeth. I don't need to see you half naked," PJ groaned as he covered his eyes. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and pulled him in the room.

"I'm not half naked. I've got shorts on but you can't see them because they're short and I'm wearing Heath's sweatshirt," she informed him.

"Whatever. Barbie said you needed me," he said, reminding her why he was there.

"I was wondering how he is."

"Elizabeth, I'm not talking to you about this," he stated.

"Come on, PJ. Please, will you at least talk to me then?" she begged.

"No," he told her coldly.

She looked over at Barbie who shrugged. These past two weeks PJ had been upset with her too. He full named her all the time and it was driving her insane.

"Why not? PJ please. I'm suppose to be your sister, you're suppose to be helping me out," she told him desperately.

"Help you out with what?" he asked.

"Can I borrow your room key?" she blurted out.

"Why?" he asked her.

"So that I can talk to him, one on one. Somewhere he can't just walk away from me? Please PJ, I'm begging you here," she got down on her knees and crawled toward him, her hands clasped together holding her arms up to his chest.

"I am going against my better judgment here. Don't screw this up Elizabeth. If you piss him off, don't tell him I gave this to you," he warned as he handed her the key.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she squealed as she jumped to her feet and hugged him.

Barbie and PJ watched as she ran out the door, letting it close behind her.

"I think you just made her life, Pauly. She's been really upset lately. With you and Heath being angry with her, I don't know how much longer she's going to take it. I practically force her to eat and even then she barely does," Barbie informed her boyfriend.

"What am I suppose to do about it Barbie? She did this to herself, she knew better than going to Stu. She had to know that something like this was going to happen. Even if they hadn't had sex, she had to know that we would have been pissed off by the simple fact that she went to him. That isn't okay with me," PJ said.

"Do you think she hasn't punished herself enough? She made a mistake and she knows that, she'll be the first person to admit that. But you also have to realize that she wasn't exactly in her right mind, and the one person she thought she could go to turned her away. She didn't think she had anywhere else to go," Barbie continued to back Elizabeth up.

"She could have gone home," PJ stated simply.

"No she couldn't have. You and Heath would have yelled at her for leaving and not telling you where she went and then you'd pester her about what she had been doing. You know you would have so don't deny it," she said when he started to shake his head, "Now seriously. It has been two weeks. Don't you think you've been mean to her for long enough? She thinks she's losing the man she loves, don't take her brother away from her too."

###

Elizabeth looked around her nervously before she slipped the key card into the slot. She heard the door click and took a deep breath before slowly turning to handle and letting herself in the room. As quietly as she could, she closed the door and let her eyes get used to the dark room. She glanced around the room and saw the bed closest to the door was empty, but she could see lump in the other bed. On instinct she walked towards him just wanting to be in his arms again, but she stopped herself and cleared her throat to get his attention.

"I told you I was going to sleep, PJ," he said grumpily, "Now please shut up."

"I'm not PJ," she whispered causing him to groan.

"How did you get in here?" he asked without rolling over to look at her.

"Can we talk? Please?" she was practically begging.

"I don't know what there is to talk about," he stated.

"I miss you," she told him quietly.

"That isn't my fault," he told her.

"Heath please look at me," she said.

"Why? I have nothing to say to you and you having nothing to say that I want to hear. So why don't you do both of us a favor and just leave," he snapped.

"Can you at least tell me what you're feeling? Tell me what you're thinking?" she asked trying to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling onto her cheeks.

"Sure, why not? I'm feeling tired and annoyed. I'm thinking that you need to get out of my hotel room so that I can get some rest," he replied.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Fine. You want to know how I feel? I'm hurting, really damn bad right now. I'm trying to figure out what the hell I did that pushed you so far away that you ran to Stu," he yelled as he sat up in his bed, "And now I'm angry because I'm tired and the only thing I want to do lately is sleep."

She stood at the foot of his bed, blinking quickly but the tears escaped anyway. Without thinking she crawled into the bed and latched onto him. She sat in his lap and locked her arms around his shoulders while burying her head in the crook of his neck; she let her tears fall on his skin.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know that you don't want to hear that right now because it only makes you mad but I don't know what else I can say," she went to pull away from him but his arms tightened around her waist, "I need to know what this means for us, if there even is an us. I understand if you don't want me anymore."

Heath started to say something but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Can you get that?" he asked her.

"They'll go away if we ignore them," she told him earnestly.

"Just get the damn door, Elizabeth," he said remembering that he was still angry with her.

When she stood up from the bed Heath lied back down and turned away from her, silently cursing himself for letting her affect him.

She walked to the door and opened it without checking to see who was there. When she saw whom it was her breath caught in her throat.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

"You need to leave, Stu," Elizabeth said in a hushed voice.

"Now why would I do that?" he asked cockily.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and tried to shut the door but he held it open.

"Don't shut me out, Elizabeth. I'm all you have now," he told her.

"I do not have you. I do not want you. You need to leave," she said firmly.

"I'm not leaving. I saw you sneak in here and I decided that you were obviously somewhere the morons wouldn't want you to be. Now that could only mean one thing," he explained.

"What would that mean?" she asked confused and he laughed.

"That you were waiting for me."

"Fuck you. That is the most insane thing you've ever said. There is no way in hell that I would wait for you. Now I'm going to tell you one more time, you need to leave. If you don't I'm calling hotel security and Vince," Elizabeth warned.

"No you wont," he stated.

She tried to shut the door again but he stopped it and grabbed her arm tightly. He pulled her to him before pushing himself into the room and slamming the door behind him. He held her up against the wall with his body before grabbing her around the neck. He stepped his body back from her but kept holding her with his hand, applying more and more pressure to it. She was gasping for air and there were silent tears falling from her eyes, even in the dark he could see the blueness of them.

"Stu, please stop," she begged as it got harder for her to breath.

Then the pressure was gone and Elizabeth fell to the floor with a thud. She looked up to see the door open, a body fly out of it, and close again.

"Liz, are you okay?" Heath's voice reached her ears and she closed her eyes, "Liz? Do you need to go to the hospital? Please, look at me."

His voice was needy and desperate and she could feel him crouching next to her. Suddenly the lights were on and there was someone else in the room.

"What just happened?" she heard PJ demand.

"I don't know. We were talking and then someone knocked on the door and she answered it. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I could hear them talking. Then the door was slammed shut and I could hear her trying to breathe. Then I heard her ask him to stop and I reacted. I jumped up and tackled him away from her before throwing him out the door," Heath explained.

Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes, trying to adjust them to the light.

"You called me Liz," she announced, her voice raspy.

"What?" they asked confused.

She smiled slightly, hoping she hadn't ruined it. She was sure Heath had called her Liz, twice. He had barely talked to her in the past two weeks but the times he did he had full named her just like PJ had. When he called her Liz it gave her hope that he wasn't as angry as he was letting on.

"You called me Liz," she repeated.

"This isn't the time to be reacting to him saying your name. We need to know if you're okay. Do you need to go to the hospital?" PJ asked.

She sat herself up and leaned against the wall as she examined her body. Nothing hurt except her neck but that was probably just going to bruise. Her breathing was returning to normal and she hadn't passed out.

"No. I mean I'm okay you don't have to take me to the hospital. It's nothing serious so don't worry about me," she told them.

"Don't worry about you? Jesus, Bee are you listening to yourself? How can we not worry about you when he wont leave you alone?" PJ yelled at her.

She glared at him and stood up. The room around her started spinning, she grabbed onto Heath's shoulder for support as she gained her balance back and the room stopped spinning.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Heath's southern accent was thick with worry.

"I'm fine," Elizabeth snapped at them, "I don't know why you buffoons are worrying now. For the past two weeks my life has been a terrible, but neither of you seemed to worry then. Do you know how horrible it is for the two people you care about the most in this world to completely ignore you? Do you know how scary it is to know that he is out there just waiting to get me away from the two of you? He has been following me around for the past two weeks waiting for me to slip up and be alone. I've been taking care of myself for the past two weeks without either of you to help so don't you dare pretend to care now."

"Liz he could have really hurt you tonight. If I hadn't stopped him, who knows what he might have done. He could have killed you," Heath told her.

"You act like he hasn't hurt me before, Heath. I've been through all of this with him before and he's done much worse than just choking me. It's not like either of you would have cared if he killed me anyway," she could feel her walls building back up, no matter how hard she tried to knock them back down. It was a constant inner battle against herself. She didn't want to be closed off all of the time; she wanted to be able to tell them what she was really feeling instead of being hard.

"Bee, that's not true. We both would be devastated if anything happened to you. How could you not know that?" PJ told her.

"I can't do this anymore," she said quietly. She was trying so hard to break those stupid walls. She didn't want to argue with them anymore, she just wanted them to love her again.

"Liz, talk to me. We don't know what to do right now. How do we make this better?" Heath asked her as he stepped closer to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't know. All I know is that I love you but I hurt you. I hurt you both and I made a mistake. I can't apologize for it because you only get angry," she whispered to him, "I need you to tell me where this leaves us."

"Pretty girl, I love you. You know that right?" Heath pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, searching for her answer.

"I don't deserve it. You could do so much better than me," she told him.

"Like hell he could," PJ responded making Elizabeth laugh slightly.

"And you deserve a better sister," she said, looking into his eyes.

"I don't want a better sister. You are stuck with me until the day you die Elizabeth Ann Lloyd. You're going to have to deal with that," PJ told her.

"PJ, can I have a minute alone with her?" Heath asked without taking his eyes off her.

"Yeah, sure man," PJ walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Elizabeth wasn't sure what was going to happen as Heath pulled her to the bed he'd been laying in when she first came into the room. He sat her down before kneeling in front of her.

"You're building walls again aren't you?" he asked her, chuckling when he saw the confusion in her eyes, "I know you like the back of my hand. I don't know how, but I can sense when something is wrong with you. Right now, you're shutting us out because you don't want to get hurt."

"Heath, I-"

"Don't apologize. I get it. We've hurt you in the past two weeks and I wish I could take it back. I was angry and I was hurting and I let that blind me from seeing that you were hurting too. I should have known when you first told me that it wasn't your choice. So I'm the one who is sorry because I didn't listen to you," Heath told her.

"I miss you," she said quietly, "I miss waking up to you in the morning. I miss having to fall asleep before you so that I don't get kept awake by your snoring. I miss you talking to me, not the mean grunting thing that you've been doing, the actual talking."

He laughed to himself, "I do not snore."

"You most certainly do too," she replied.

"Do not," he said with a pout before he tickled her. She hadn't been expecting it so she had no way to fight him off. She laughed and screamed until he finally made her say mercy and they flopped down on the bed next to each other.

"Where does this leave us though?" she whispered, refusing to look over at him.

Heath pushed himself up and straddled her, putting his hand on either side of her head making sure he wasn't hurting her. He waited for her to look into his eyes before he spoke.

"I love you. I will always love you, for the rest of my life and I will never love anyone else. I will never want anyone else. You're it for me pretty girl and I will spend the rest of my life proving that to you," he told her before kissing her gently, "That is where this leaves me. I'll be with you until you kick me to the curb and probably even then just to make sure the next guy treats you right. Now the question is, where does this leave you?"

Elizabeth smiled up at him and took a deep breath before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his face close to hers. Her eyes were full of lust and she was teasing him with her lips.

"I. Want. You," she told him, kissing him between each word.

He didn't need to be told again. He pressed his lips against hers as hard as he could, forcing her lips to open as he slid his tongue into her mouth. His hands traveled to the sweatshirt she was wearing and he unzipped it slowly until he realized she didn't have a shirt on underneath it. He practically ripped the zipper down and pulled it off her body. The cold air hitting her skin made her back arch into him and he took the opportunity to unsnap her bra and pull it off, carelessly throwing it to the floor. His hands went straight to her breasts, massaging the tender flesh while his lips were making there way around her neck.

The two were so consumed with each other they didn't hear the door open.

"Oh My God!" PJ screamed, "Naked sister! Naked sister having sex! My eyes! My eyes!"

"PJ get out of here," Elizabeth yelled at him.

"I, uh, I'm just going to, uh, spend the night in, uh, not this room. I'll, uh, see you, um, in the morning then. Fully clothed preferably," PJ stammered.

"PJ go away!" Heath told him, throwing a pillow towards the door just as he walked out of it.

"Oh my goodness. That is so embarrassing!" Elizabeth said, covering her face with her hands.

Heath was trying not to laugh as Elizabeth blushed a dark red that would put his hair to shame. He shook his head and pulled her hands away from her face.

"Forget about him," he told her, his voice filled with lust, "Now where were we?"


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

Heath woke up the next morning with a smile on his face. He was happy he finally had the girl of his dreams back in his arms. He didn't have much time to think about what happened because the phone rang signaling the early wake up call PJ had set up. They had to leave for the next city that was 4 hours away. They would have time to check in at the hotel, they'd have to go straight to arena. He got out of bed, put his shorts on, and walked to his suitcase.

"Where are you going?" she whispered as she sat up, wrapping a sheet around her body.

"We have to get going to the next city. I'm going to get in the shower and finish packing," he explained, "You should probably go back to your own room and do the same. PJ will want to get in here and will freak out again if he sees you like that."

Elizabeth nodded, a little hurt. He didn't say anything about last night and she knew she shouldn't bring it up. She wasn't sure if he regretted it or not and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer. She got up quickly and put her clothes on before walking to the door.

"I guess I'll see you later then. Are you going to ride with PJ?" she asked him.

"Probably. We have to go over our match and figure out what we are going to do before we get in the ring with Ted and Cody. I'll call you when we get to the arena," he replied.

She nodded again and walked out of the hotel room. She felt defeated. Part of her was glad that he was actually talking to her. But the other part was upset that he didn't want to talk about what happened. She couldn't apologize to him because it would upset him. She didn't know how to bring it up to him though.

"Thank you for actually being dressed," Elizabeth heard a voice behind her say. She knew who it was without looking around at him, "Are you and Heath better now?"

"I don't know," she answered, "I've gotta go, PJ. I'll see you later."

Elizabeth left her brother standing there and walked into the room she was sharing with Barbie. Luckily Barbie wasn't in there to bombard her with questions of the previous night. The only thing Elizabeth wanted to do was shower and leave. She knew that Barbie would be able to ride with PJ and Heath. She took a quick shower and got dressed, not caring to put make up on. She had a photo shoot to get to and figured they'd do her make up for her. She didn't want to have to deal with one more thing that could make her stay any longer.

###

"Heath, what did you do?" PJ asked when he got in the rental car. He'd just gotten a text from Elizabeth telling him that she'd left early and to let Barbie know that she was now riding with PJ and Heath.

"What do you mean?" Heath replied, "I don't think I did anything."

"I think that's the point, bud," Barbie said from the back seat.

"Why are you here?" Heath asked her.

"Because Elizabeth left early. As in like an hour early," PJ told him.

"So that's my fault?"

"Yes!" Barbie and PJ said at the same time.

"She has to be to the arena earlier than us anyway. She has that photo shoot. I didn't do anything," Heath said again.

"Did you guys talk at all? About anything that's happened?" Barbie asked him.

"Was I suppose to?" Heath asked. Barbie rolled her eyes. She was getting irritated that he didn't know any better. Apparently he didn't realize how fragile she was still. Her emotions were so out of whack that she couldn't tell what way was up anymore. The past two weeks had been hard on Elizabeth and without knowing where Heath actually stood on everything, it only made things harder.

"Heath seriously. Please tell me you aren't that much of an airhead. You had sex with her and then didn't even talk to her about it? What did you say when you woke up this morning?" Barbie asked, trying to keep calm.

"Uh, I told her that we needed to get ready to go. I said she should go to her room and get packed. Then she asked if I was riding with her and I told her that PJ and I needed to talk about our match tonight," Heath said.

"You are a complete idiot, Heath Miller. You do realize that she probably thinks you were using her last night then, right? She was inviting you to ride with her, she was reaching out to you and you shot her down. She's probably feeling worthless right now. How about you think about that until we get to the arena. You are such a prick," Barbie exclaimed.

"Okay, no more arguing. Barbs, I agree with you that Heath is an idiot. But right now is not the time to be fighting. Liz isn't picking up her phone, I've called three times in the past 10 minutes and it just rings until voicemail picks it up," PJ said.

"She's driving, babe. She probably isn't going to be picking up until she gets to the arena or stops at a rest area. She wont do that though, she'll want to get as far away from the place that the man she loves used her for sex," Barbie said. It was a cheap shot and she knew it but she didn't care. Right now, her best friend was hurting and she wasn't around to help her. The only thing she could do was be mean to Heath.

"I didn't use her. She knows that. I would never use her. I love her and she knows that. I made sure she knew that last night before anything happened," Heath yelled at her, "I'm not an ass, Barbie."

"Not an ass? Are you kidding me right now? These last two weeks have been hell for that girl. You put her through that. The both of you did. You may have made amends last night, but by not talking about what happened two weeks ago this morning you made things worse. That makes you an ass," Barbie yelled back.

"What do you want me to do about it? She didn't say anything either," Heath yelled louder, "If it was really bothering her then she would have said something."

"No actually, she wouldn't," PJ announced, "You know how she is, Heath. Especially with everything that has happened with Stu. She's afraid you'll be angry with her if she does something wrong. It's not anything that you can change about her. She doesn't want us to be upset with her so she keeps quiet, thinking we don't want her to talk about how she's feeling. You need to talk to her when we get to the arena."

Heath only nodded. He was angry with himself for being such an idiot. He didn't know if he could get used to this side of Elizabeth. She had always been strong and confident, that is what attracted him to her in the first place. Now, she was shy and intimidated. He understood that she'd gone through something tragic, but she wouldn't talk about it. He needed her to talk about it, but she refused to. He couldn't understand why.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you Heath," Barbie said from the backseat, "I'm just worried about her. I don't want to lose her again."

"I know Barbs. I'm sorry too. I'm trying, honestly I am. She just isn't herself anymore and I don't know how to get her back," Heath answered.

The rest of the drive was pretty quiet, all were in thought. Elizabeth had changed and none of them knew how to get her back.

###

Elizabeth got to the arena half an hour before her photo shoot was scheduled, but she didn't care. She went to the site of the shoot and found a couple photographers.

"Hey, guys!" she said putting a smile on her face, "I was wondering if we could get started early. I'm really tired and I don't have a match tonight, so I just want to get to the hotel and sleep."

"Of course we can. Let's just get you over to hair and makeup while the others set up," Andrea, one of the photographers said.

It took ten minutes for her hair and makeup to be done. When Andrea walked back in with her wardrobe, Elizabeth panicked slightly. When she changed, she looked in the mirror and could easily see the bruise Stu had left on her neck the night before.

"Guys, I'm really sorry to do this, but, uh," Elizabeth started, "I, um, have a bruise on my neck, and uh, with this dress, I'm, uh, going to need some makeup one it. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize Elizabeth," Andrea said, when she saw the bruise she gasped, "Is everything alright? I mean, are you okay?'

"Yeah, I'm fine," Elizabeth said quickly, "Don't worry about it."

Andrea gave her a suspicious look that told her she didn't believe a word but didn't say anything. They continued on with the shoot, but could tell that Elizabeth was uncomfortable so she shut it down early.

"Alright, I think I've got all everything I needed," Andrea announced to the photography crew, "Elizabeth, you look exhausted. Go check in at the hotel and get some rest."

Elizabeth nodded and changed back into her street clothes before heading out to her car. She hadn't gone back to Tampa so she was still driving her own car. She didn't mind though, she felt more comfortable in her own car. The only thing missing was a travel buddy. She sighed, wishing Heath had ridden with her instead of PJ. She didn't want to be alone anymore but she wasn't sure how Heath felt.

Slowly, she made her way to the hotel, not paying attention to the vehicles around her and who might be driving them.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

Elizabeth checked into the hotel before grabbing her suitcases out of her car. She walked to the elevator and pushed the button, waiting for the doors to open. When they did she walked in and leaned against the mirrored walls after pushing the button to bring her to the 5th floor. The doors opened again and she walked slowly to room 504. She'd been in room 504 before in different hotels and suddenly the last time she was in one flashed through her mind as she walked in and sat her suitcases on one of the beds.

"_What in the bloody hell were you thinking out there?" he demanded, "You could have gotten me hurt, for real, no kayfabe."_

"_I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to. It's just that, earlier before the match, when you through me into that bench in the locker room, I hit my knee. Then during the match when I was trying to jump off the turnbuckles, it gave out. I didn't try to fall on you, I just lost my balance," she explained quickly._

"_That's a sorry excuse and you know it. You purposefully fell on me and knocked me off the apron, into the steel steps," he said, his voice rising as he walked towards her, "Don't shake your head at me like you're innocent, I know better than that Elizabeth. You want me to get hurt because you think it'll give you the opportunity to get away from me. Well, guess what! You are never going to get away from me. You're going to be bloody trapped forever."_

_His laugh echoed throughout the room. Elizabeth was in the corner of the room, trying to stay as far away from him as possible. She didn't want to say anything because if she said the wrong thing then it would set him off the edge. Just then, Stu sent the desk chair flying towards her. She screamed as it hit her chest, ribs, and stomach. She dropped to the floor with the chair and curled up into a ball. _Don't cry; don't let him see the effect he has on you, _she told herself._

_She could hear his footsteps getting closer and whimpered slightly when the chair that he'd thrown was picked up and thrown across the room, away from her corner. _

"_Please, stop," she begged, "I'm sorry, I really didn't try to hurt you. I swear-"_

_He cut her off by pulling her to her feet by her hair. "What have I told you about telling me to stop? I won't stop unless I want to."_

Elizabeth shuddered before she forced herself back to the present. She didn't want to think about the things he'd done to her. She just wanted to move on already, to get over it. She wanted to be able to go outside by herself and not be afraid that he'd show up and take her away.

"Elizabeth, stop thinking like that. It'll be okay, eventually, everything will be okay," she said out loud.

She forced herself to stop thinking and decided that she was hungry. She called for room service and took a quick shower before it would be delivered. When she got out, dressed in a black sports bra, hot pink tank top, and black shorts. She wanted to eat, watch a movie by herself, and fall asleep. So she unpacked her laptop and DVDs, opting for a Disney classic, Beauty and The Beast. It'd been her favorite when she was a little girl and could always relax her after a long, stressful day.

When she heard a knock on the door, she made her way across the small hotel room. She opened the door wide, ready to accept the food she'd ordered. She was confused for a split second, no one was there, and that was when everything went dark.

###

"PJ where are you going? Did you not see that huge building? That was the arena and you drove right past it," Heath complained, "I want to get out of this tiny car."

"Well, we have two hours before we have to be there. I figured that we could quick check in at the hotel and get situated before we go to the arena," PJ told them.

"But Bee is at the arena, Pauly," Barbie reminded him.

Immediately, PJ did a U-turn in the middle of the street and headed towards the arena. His sister was quite possibly the most important person in his life and he hated when she was upset. Granted, it was partially his fault that she was upset this time. He'd pushed her away for running to the man that hurt her because she couldn't go to him. _Why couldn't she just come to me? _he thought. He shook his head; it took too much energy to think about it. There where plenty of reasons she didn't feel like she could go to him. Most of them dating back to when she was growing up, after their dad died, when he was supposed to be taking care of her and raising her.

"I need to fix this," he said out loud, forgetting that his girlfriend and best friend were also in the car with him.

"Fix what?"

"I was such an idiot. I pushed her away again. I did it when she was younger, I just up and left. I brought that idiot into our lives and put her in danger. I didn't listen to what she was telling me and I didn't hear what she wasn't telling me. I promised to take care of her and I failed her, again," he explained.

"This isn't your fault right now PJ," Heath told him, "I messed up when I didn't talk to her about what happened. We both messed up when we wouldn't talk to her, but we fixed it, for the most part, last night. At least you did. I'm the idiot who messed up again this morning."

PJ shook his head again. He wanted to believe the red head, but so much had happened between PJ and his sister that he knew he should have been there. When she stopped eating, he should have noticed the extreme weight loss. He should have seen the bruises underneath all the makeup she rarely wore. He should have at least asked questions. Looking back on when everything first started, when Stu first started to hurt Elizabeth, when The Corre storyline had first started on SmackDown, he knew there were things that didn't add up. It was then that she closed up again; she was protecting herself from getting hurt. He remembered thinking she was getting skinnier but figured that it had to do with the workouts she put herself through.

"I should have seen it. I should have known. I should have asked her questions and forced her to answer them. I shouldn't have let it go on as long as I did. And I should have believed Barbs when she told me, instead of yelling at Elizabeth and hitting her," PJ said, angry with himself.

"Shoulda, woulda, coulda. We all should have seen it, but we didn't. I think part of it is that Elizabeth didn't want it to be seen. She didn't want us to think she was weak and couldn't take care of herself. Stu is manipulative, we all know that. He somehow managed to convince her that we wouldn't believe her if she told us. He convinced her that we would turn our backs on her. He had her convinced that he actually owned your contracts and would hurt me if she defied him. She was protecting us by putting herself in danger," Barbie tried to calm him, "There was nothing else you could have possibly done."

"I agree with everything Barbie said, except for one thing," Heath said, "There was something PJ could have done. And what he shouldn't have done. But it's all in the past. She is away from him and she is safe. He isn't hurting her all the time anymore and we know about everything that happened. She's eating again, healthily. Granted, we should have done it months ago, but we are protecting her."

PJ pulled into a parking spot close to the back door of the arena. They scanned the parking lot loosely for Elizabeth's car, but didn't see it. The three walked into the arena and went their separate ways. Heath headed to the photo shoot, Barbie to hair and makeup, and PJ to the locker room he was to share with Heath. They'd decided to meet up in catering in twenty minutes, but none of them ended up going there. They got the call one after the other.

"PJ, I'm sorry to have to tell you this. Your sister didn't have a match today, so after her photo shoot she left the arena and checked into the hotel. She must have called for room service or something. I'm not sure the details but she was rushed immediately to the hospital," the caller was Stephanie McMahon.

PJ hung up as soon as he heard the word hospital and rushed out to his car. Barbie and Heath who had apparently heard the news met him there. Barbie took the keys, knowing neither man was in any condition to drive; she'd also been the only person to get the location of the hospital out of Steph. She raced through the city as fast as she could, not caring about how many laws she was breaking. The only thing she knew was that her best friend was hurting and no one knew what happened.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

The drive from the arena to the hospital seemed to last for hours to PJ. His mind was racing 100 miles per hour and he couldn't focus on anything. He was thankful that Barbie had opted to drive because he would have caused an accident.

Again, he was blaming himself. If only he hadn't been so angry with her. If only he'd listened to her. If he'd listened to Barbie when she told him the truth then Elizabeth wouldn't be in the hospital right now.

In the backseat, Heath was also blaming himself. He should have protected her. He should have ridden with her instead of PJ. He should've talked to her about what happened and assured her that he wasn't using her. It was the first time they'd had sex since before he got traded to SmackDown. He'd missed her body but hadn't wanted to force her to do anything she didn't want to do.

"What the hell happened?" Barbie questioned, pulling PJ and Heath out of their trances.

"I don't know," PJ answered, "Steph said she didn't know any details."

Barbie whipped into the emergency parking lot of the hospital and parked in the first spot she saw. Heath and PJ were out of the car before she even put it in park. When she finally made it inside she found the two guys arguing, Heath with a nurse and PJ with a security guard. They were trying to get past the doors that said 'Staff Only'.

"I need to find my sister," PJ was repeating, rather loudly.

As calmly as she could, Barbie made her way to the nurse's station. "Hi, I'm looking for Elizabeth Lloyd. She was brought in by ambulance at least half an hour ago," she said, her voice thick with emotion.

"What is your relationship to her, ma'am," the nurse asked her, following protocol.

"I'm her sister-in-law," she lied, "The red head is her fiancé," another lie, "And the man with the accent is her brother," the truth.

The nurse nodded politely, "I see. Ms. Lloyd is currently in surgery. She was in rough shape when they brought her in. I'll send someone out to update you all as soon as I get some news. I am going to need them to settle down, however. They are causing quite a scene and I don't want to have to through them out."

Barbie nodded to her and walked over to PJ and Heath. She grabbed an arm in each hand and dragged them to a secluded area in the waiting room. Sitting them down and giving them a glare to shut them up before she told them what she had found out. Just as she was about to open her mouth men in uniform interrupted her.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but are you here for Elizabeth Lloyd?" a police officer with dirty blonde hair asked them.

"Yes, do you know what happened?" PJ asked as he stood up. His face was full of concern, _if the police are involved something bad happened,_ he thought to himself.

"We aren't exactly sure. That is why we are here to speak to you. What we know right now is that she ordered room service and before it got there she was attacked. We haven't caught the attacker yet. That is where you come in," the officer with brown hair explained, "We are going to need to ask you all a few questions. Now, we understand that you are her brother, sister-in-law, and fiancé, correct?"

"Well, not exactly," Barbie told them, "This is her brother, I'm his girlfriend and her best friend and that is her boyfriend. I sort of lied to the nurse because I knew she wouldn't give me the information I wanted and these two were too upset to ask properly."

"Okay," the blonde officer told her, "Now, where were you guys an hour ago?"

"We were at the arena. We had literally just gotten there and were looking for Liz," Barbie explained.

"Have there been any creepy fans stalking her that you know of?" he asked.

"No. Not that we know of at least. I mean, there are always creepy people here and there, but none that were stalking her," PJ answered.

"Is it possible that someone might want to hurt her? Someone who might be upset with her for something?" the blonde asked.

"Stu," Heath blurted out, "Stu Bennett."

"Why would he want to hurt her? Do you know?"

"It's been an ongoing thing. It started about 6 or so months ago. A few years ago they'd been a couple, but she broke up with him. He didn't take to well to it and he recently started punishing her for it. He got in some trouble a few months back for it and he got suspended for 2 months. She had requested for only the suspension because she didn't want to ruin his life. He hasn't really let up though. I think he's been following her around. Last night she mentioned something about never being alone because if she were then he'd get to her. It's been pretty traumatic for her," PJ admitted.

"I see. We will be in touch with you soon," the brunette said and the walked off just as a doctor was walking towards them.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Prime. We just got Elizabeth out of surgery; she is in recovery right now. Whoever attacked her sure did a number on her. Her right rotator cuff was completely torn, we did all we could, but it will take quite a while for that to heal. She also had a major head wound, we cleaned her up and took as much pressure as we could off the skull and stitched her up. She is still unconscious right now from the anesthesia but I will let you know when we move her to a room. She will need to stay here for at least a week so we can monitor for a concussion of some sort," he told them.

"How long will she need until she can return to the ring?" PJ asked, then when Heath and Barbie looked at him weird he added, "What? It'll be the first thing she'll ask when she can put proper thoughts together. I figure we break it to her rather than someone she doesn't know."

"At this point, it's too early to tell. Like I said, her right shoulder took most of the damage. She definitely wont be in the ring any time soon," Dr. Prime told them honestly before walking away.

"She is going to be devastated," Heath said quietly, "She found happiness in the ring. That's where she goes when she can't be happy by herself. She needs the ring."

"She found happiness in you too," Barbie reminded him, "She needs you."

Heath nodded slightly before offering to get everyone a cup of coffee. He needed some time to think, he wanted to be alone.

###

_Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars; I could really use a wish right now. Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars; I could really use a wish right now._

I'm flying, _she thought. She was finally free. It didn't matter how it ended or who did it. She was gone now; she was going to see her dad again, after so many years. She didn't know who it was, she never saw their face, but she did know it hurt. She was in and out of consciousness while they were hurting her. She was down for the count when she felt the stabbing pain in her shoulder. She remembered crying out, begging for him, just wanting him there to love her and comfort her and save her. He never showed up though, or maybe he did but he was too late. It didn't matter anymore. She would miss them, Heath and Barbie and PJ. She hoped that they didn't hurt, that they didn't suffer because of her. _

_Then she felt the pain again. She could hear him calling for her, begging her to wake up. His voice, that's what was bringing her back._

No, _she begged, _I don't want to wake up. Please, don't make me. Let me stay here, it doesn't hurt._ There was no way around it; the pain was getting more profound. She could feel herself coming back, and then it was gone again. The pain, his voice, the lights. She was flying again, until she saw him._

"What are you doing here?" _she choked out, _"Why are you doing this to me?"

"_I told you you'd always be mine. No matter what happened, no matter who came between us. You're mine, he can't do anything about it."_

"I don't want to wake up. I want to fly. I don't want to feel the pain. I don't want to fake being happy anymore. I can't fake it anymore," _she told him._

"_Then stay here. Stay with me."_

"No, you'll hurt me if I stay here. You always hurt me."

"_It's either me or him. Fly or pain. Those are the choices. You can't have both good things. Stay with me; don't feel any pain and we can fly together. Or go with him, feel the pain, be unhappy."_

"That isn't fair," _she whined._

"_Life isn't fair, love. Take your pick, either way, you're trapped."_


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

"Come one, Liz," Heath begged, "I need you to wake up pretty girl."

She was still unconscious from the anesthetic and some painkillers on top of it. Heath sat by her side while Barbie dragged PJ down to the cafeteria. He was needing to get out of the hospital room or he would have brokend own, Heath and Barbie could see it in his eyes.

"Please Liz. Please come back to me. Your brother needs you, I need you. Just open your eyes and let me know you're alright. Please," Heath said.

He held onto her hand as he rested his forehead on the hospital bed. The tv volume low and the beeping of the machines were the only sounds in the room. He prayed silently that everything would be alright. The only thing he wanted was for Elizabeth to wake up and be okay.

"I'm here Liz. I'll always be here. I promise I will never leave your side again. You just need to wake up."

She whimpered slightly and Heath's head snapped up. Her eyes were still closed but her face was scrunched up as if she were in pain. She gripped his hand tightly for a second. Then her hand relaxed along with the rest of her body and the machines surrounding her went into overdrive. Doctors and nursed rushed in and moved Heath away from the bed.

"She's slipping into a coma," a nurse with blonde hair explained to him, "We knew this was a possibility because of the head trauma."

"Can't you stop it?" Heath asked, his voice desperate.

"A coma is a brains way of healing itself. We can't stop it from happening. The only thing we can do is keep her as comfortable as possible. But talk to her, we believe that even though she isn't awake and can't respond, she can hear us. Encourage her to wake up and she'll come back to the people she loves," the nurse said, soothingly.

Heath nodded as he watched the others leave and the blonde took elizabeth's vitals. He couldn't feel anything, as soon as the nurse said Elizabeth was in a coma he went completely numb.

"I'm Mackenzie. I'll be her daytime nurse fo the whole week. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," she told him, breaking him out of his trance.

"Heath," he responded, "the other guy is PJ, liz's brother and the blonde is Barbie."

"The name suits her well," Mackenzie tried to joke. Heath just stared at her, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to be rude. I just meant that she is beautiful."

"It's okay, and thank you," Barbie said as her and PJ entered the room, "He's just out of it right now."

"She's in a coma," Heath whispered to PJ.

"How is that possible? I mean she was just knocked out from the meds," PJ asked, his voice shaking.

"It was a possibility. But this coma is a good thing, even though it does sound like it. her brain needs time to heal itself. And another good thing is that it's not too deep. She should wake up soon. I'mnot a doctor so I cant give you a précised time but I'd range it anywhere between a day to a week without memory loss," Mackenzie explained, "As I told Heath, talk to her. encourage her to wake up and remind her that you love her. I need to finish my rounds, but if any of you need anything I'm more than willing to help."

###

_how can you see into my eyes like open doors? Leading you down into my core, where I become so numb. Without a soul, my spirit sleeping some where cold, until you find it there and lead it back home._

"_It's so cold," she whispered._

"_Stop complaining. You're the one who wanted to fly."_

"_But it was warm before. Now, it's cold. I don't want to stay here. Why wont you ever let me go when I ask you too?" she cried._

"_I shouldn't have to let you go. I was there for you when no one else was, remember? You even told me that. I made you happy, I made you stop hurting."_

"_I wasn't happy though," she told him, "Not really, unless I was in the ring. I was just numb, I wasn't hurting anymore but I wasn't happy because I wasn't feeling anything."_

"_So what made you finally happy? What made you feel again?"_

"_Heath," she said._

"_Then why are you here instead of with him? He's the one who made you feel again. I make you numb, he let's you feel. Would you rather stay here, numb and cold and flying, or go with him, feeling and warmth and grounded?"_

"_I don't know," she whispered._

"_Well you need to figure it out soon. Because they're waiting for you to wake up."_

"_Who is?" she asked._

"_Barbie is there, she's trying to hold it together for the boys. She thinks she needs to be strong so that she can take care of them, but really she's falling apart on the inside. then there's PJ, who is falling apart inside and out. They've had to take him out of your room at least five times now because he is on the edge of a breakdown. Heath is there, of course, he's begging you to go back to him. He's blaming himself, which is quite humorous to me because if he wasn't such an ass to you and hadn't used you then he could have protected you."_

"_Don't blame him. He didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who hurt him. You said so yourself, I deserve to be punished for doing something wrong," she scolded._

"_Drew is on his way. They had to basically re-do the whole script for the show tonight because the four of you weren't in any shape to compete. He had a main event match though, so you should be proud of him for that. He is panicking though, apparently they didn't fill him in on what happened only that you were in the hospital. I'm at the police station for questioning, which is pointless because they'll never be able to trace this back to me. I was riding with Alberto when they found you. And John is having a conniption over at the RAW house show, he is freaking out."_

"_If you didn't do it, then who did?" Elizabeth asked, confused._

"_Now, why would I tell you? You'd just go to the police the second you wake up, tell them that you remember something you actually don't, and an innocent person would end up going to jail. Is that what you really want?"_

"_I want you to go to jail," she shouted at him._

"_Sorry, we don't get everything we want." _

"_Then let me go, let me out of here. Let me go back to them. You said that they need me, but I can't help them from here. I need to go back so that I can help them," she said._

"_I can't let you go, not yet. There's still a few things I need to tell you before you leave me."_

"_Then tell me," she demanded._

"_Quite the feisty one when you're numb. First, you're going to hurt Heath again. I'm not ordering you too, I'm just telling you what is going to happen. But don't worry too much because he'll be healed. Coincidentally, by a nurse. Second, she's not mine."_

"_What do you mean I'm going to hurt him? And she who?" she asked, more confused than ever before. _

_She could feel the pain coming back, slowly by now._

"_Wait, Stu. What do you mean? Please tell me! I don't want to hurt him," she cried._

"_I can't tell you. If I did that would throw off the balance."_

"_Balance? What balance?"_

###

Barbie was fast asleep in the makeshift bed on the couch in elizabeth's hospital room. Heath looked uncomfortable as his large frame sat in what looked like a folding chair. He hadn't left Elizabeth's bedside since she went into the coma. PJ, sitting on the other side of her bed, was just staring at her. her eyes started to flutter slightly and her face contorted in pain as she whimpered.

"Balance?" she whispered, "What balance?"

"Bee?" PJ whispered back. he watched as her eyes opened, looking around without moving her head, "It's alright Bee. I'm here."

"PJ?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm right here. How are you feeling? I'll go get a nurse or a doctor," he told her.

"No," she said, "I wanna go home."


	41. Chapter 41

**Okay, I think I'm going to do one more chapter. Then I am going to do a sequel. It's going to be 18 months after this day. Since it's such a big jump I feel like it'll be a different story all together and I already have all kinds of ideas turning in my head. I'm pretty sure I know exactly what I'm going to call it but I will put one last update on here when I start that one. Thank you so much to every one who has been reading this and also to every one who has reviewed! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 41<strong>

"_Bee?" PJ whispered back. He watched as her eyes open, looking around without moving her head, "It's alright Bee. I'm here."_

"_PJ?" she asked._

"_Yeah, I'm right here. How are you feeling? I'll go get a nurse or a doctor," he told her._

"_No," she said, "I wanna go home."_

"I know Bee. But first we have to get you better. I'll take you home just as soon as the doctor says you can," PJ promised.

"What happened? Where am I?" Elizabeth asked.

"I was hoping you'd know that. We were looking for you at the arena when Steph called us. She told us that you were in the hospital. When we got here, the police told us that you were attacked but they didn't catch whoever did it. Do you remember who it was?" PJ explained.

Elizabeth shook her head. She closed her eyes as she tried to remember. The last thing she remembered was being at the photo shoot.

"How long have I been here? What time is it?" she asked him.

"You've been in a coma for a week. Let me get your doctor and wake Heath and Barbie up. They haven't left this room, we've all been so worried about you," PJ said as he stood up and walked to the door, "I'm glad your back."

Elizabeth shook her head again. She was so tired, which didn't make any sense to her because PJ just told her she'd been in a coma for a week. But the things she saw, the things Stu told her, they felt so real. She remembered hearing Heath and PJ talk to her too. The things they'd whispered and Stu would have some smart remark for it. _First, you're going to hurt Heath again. _What did that even mean? How could she hurt him? Why would she hurt him? She tried to move her arms so that she could rub her eyes but the second she tried she felt a searing pain in her shoulder and cried out.

Heath heard her cry and woke up immediately. Her eyes were closed but her face was etched in pain. He could see tears starting to form under her eyes and fall down her cheeks. He reached up and wiped them away, scaring her as he did. Her eyes opened, the fear evident in the blueness.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Heath whispered, "I just don't like it when you cry."

"What's wrong with my arm? Why does it hurt?" she asked him, her voice pleading.

"Your rotator cuff was torn and they had to do surgery to fix it," he explained.

"How long?"

"They don't know yet, but it's not going to be for quite a while. Your shoulder needs to heal completely," Heath told her.

She closed her eyes to let the news sink in. She was starting to understand what her coma Stu was talking about. The only thing she wanted to do now was go home. Not home to Tampa, that wasn't home. She wanted to go to Cape Town. She wanted to go back to the barn and her father's house. She didn't want to talk to anyone; she wanted to get away, to heal on her own. They weren't going to let her out of their sight any time soon, not after this, and she knew that. She needed to think of a way to get away without the possibility of them stopping her.

"Are we still in North Carolina?" she asked him and he nodded, "Heath, I want to go home."

"I know you babe. We'll get you home as soon as we can. We'll help you get through this, you don't have to do it alone," he told her, but she shook her head.

"I don't want to go to Tampa," she told him.

"But Liz, that's home."

"No its not. I want to go home to the barn, to my dad's house. I want to go back to South Africa," she whispered.

Just as she said that PJ walked in so she didn't see the look on Heath's face. He had started to frown but it wasn't because she wanted to leave, he'd expected that. It was because of what PJ hadn't told her in the past 3 years.

"PJ, I wanna go home," she told him.

"The doctor said that you could go home in a week. He just needs to make sure that your concussion is better and that your head is healed. He said that he'll send your information to a doctor in Tampa so that you can go home and get the stitches out," he told her as a nurse came in to check on her.

"No, I don't want to go to Tampa," she said, "I want to go home."

PJ looked at Heath before responding; "You want to go back?" she nodded, "Why? We can't help you if you're all the way over there. We can't just hop on a plane whenever you have a doctor's appointment. We all have to work."

Elizabeth studied his face and could tell that he was hiding something but when she opened her mouth to ask him the nurse decided it would be a good idea to talk.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. I just need to ask you a few questions for your file," she told Elizabeth, "I'm Mackenzie, I've been looking after you since you got here. Sadly, tomorrow I have a day off so I wont be your nurse anymore. First, I need to know if you are having any blurry vision?"

"No."

"Any headache or pain any where else?"

"Just my shoulder, Heath said that my rotator cuff was torn. How long am I going to be out of the ring for?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, right now it's looking like no less than a year. You'll have to go through intense physical therapy to get it to the point it was before and depending on how hard you work, it could be earlier. How bad is the pain? Do you feel like you need any pain killers for it?" she explained.

"No, I think I can deal with it for now," Elizabeth told her and she nodded.

"They told me you were a tough one," Mackenzie smiled, "That is all I need for now, but if you need anything all you need to do is push the call button and I'll be here as soon as I can."

"Thanks," Elizabeth said before she walked out the door and she turned to look at her brother, "What are you hiding from me? Why can't I go home? I know it's more than just you not being able to help me because we still have friends there who are just as capable of helping me out. What aren't you telling me?"

When PJ looked down at the floor she knew it was something big. "I, uh, well when we first got here we, um, weren't making a whole lot of money, and uh, I bought that car right away. Then I, um, got behind on sending the payments for the house and the barn. I had to sell it. Bee, please don't be angry with me. I'm so sorry."

Elizabeth felt tears starting to well up in her eyes but she forced them away. Everything she had that reminded her of her father was gone. The barn, the only place she could still feel him, it wasn't hers anymore.

"What was I giving you money for then? Where did all of that go?" she asked, trying to keep herself calm.

"It's in a bank account. Every time you'd give me money I'd put it right in that account," he said.

"Get out," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly.

"Bee, come on. You can't just kick me out. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you; I just didn't want you to be disappointed in me for not being responsible. I didn't want-" he said before she interrupted.

"I said get out. Now!" she said, her voice stronger.

PJ looked up at Heath, pleading to him with his eyes.

"Did you know?" Elizabeth asked, seeing that PJ was looking at Heath. When Heath looked down at the blankets on her bed she knew the answer, "Both of you, get out. I want you to leave, I don't want you here anymore."

"Pretty girl, we can't just leave-" Heath started.

"Why not? You seem to have had no problem with it in the past," she told him, "No, wait. That was you telling me to leave. How does it feel? I'm not going to say it again, if you don't leave now I'll call security."

They looked at her one last time before walking out of the door. She was staring off into space, her eyes vacant of any emotion.

###

An hour after she made her brother and Heath leave, Elizabeth asked Barbie if she knew about the barn and the house. When Barbie's answer was the same as Heath's, she was told to leave. Elizabeth called the one person she knew would help her. She'd successfully gotten rid of Heath, Barbie, or PJ stopping her for disappearing, now she just needed to figure out where to go. When she remembered she was in North Carolina, she knew there was only one place to go, on person who would help her.

The next week went by slowly and on her last day in the hospital, Mackenzie was her nurse again.

"Where is everyone?" she asked when she walked into the room.

"Gone. I told them to keep on working, I don't need them here. Honestly, I don't want them here either," Elizabeth snapped at her.

"Well, I'm sorry about that. I know they really care about you. They were so worried that you wouldn't wake up; I don't think they left your room once since you were moved up here. I could tell that you mean a lot to them," Mackenzie told her.

"Are you here to try to give me a guilt trip or is there some other reason?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm not trying to give you a guilt trip. I came with your discharge papers, but I can't let you leave unless there is someone to take you home," Mackenzie explained.

"I have someone to talk me home," Elizabeth told her, and just then 4 people walked into her hospital room. She smiled when she saw that every one had come, "Matthew, I told you that you didn't have to get everyone. I just needed someone to talk me home."

"I know, I know. But once I told Jeff that I was picking you up and taking you home with me, he wouldn't take no for an answer. Then Reby and Beth just wanted to see you and didn't want to wait at home," Matt told her.

"Well, since it looks like you're taken care of, I'll leave these here. I'll be back with a wheelchair and as soon as you sign those, you are free to go." Mackenzie said, handing the discharge papers to Elizabeth.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

After signing the papers, Matt and Jeff did exactly what Elizabeth had wanted Heath and PJ to do, they let her be. She didn't want to talk about the attack; she didn't want to talk about Stu or anything that he did. They didn't ask any questions, even though she could tell that they were dying on the inside to ask. They were allowing her to disappear for a while. The only thing she needed to do now was call Vince. It scared her, the fact that she didn't know when she was coming back. It wasn't a matter of 'if' she was, it was 'when'. She knew she belonged in the ring, or at least with the company and she would only truly feel at home but she needed some time away. Not only to heal physically but also emotionally. For the past 3 years, she'd thought that she could go home anytime she wanted, home to Cape Town but now she realized that she didn't have anywhere to call home. She didn't have a family anymore, she had nothing but herself. Now, she needed to fix herself, learn to live with herself, and remember who she really is.

She listened to the dial tone rang in her ear. The knots in her stomach got worse with every ring, and then when he answered every thing went away.

"Ms. Lloyd, how are you feeling? Are you still in the hospital?" he asked.

"I'm alright, sir, thank you. I was just released form the hospital. They said that it would take about a year for my shoulder to heal, with intense physical therapy. I'm sorry sir," Elizabeth told him.

"No need to apologize, Elizabeth. Injuries happen, sadly yours was under circumstances that cannot be punished at this time, but rest assured that justice would be served as soon as possible. Now, we need to discuss the new terms of your contract," Vince McMahon replied.

"You are still willing to have me under contract while I'm injured, sir? I'm not even positive that I'll be able to return in a year. I don't know how long it will take for me to, I guess recover. It's not just the shoulder and my head, it's a mix of everything," she explained.

"I'm not worried about that right now Elizabeth. I know that you'll be back eventually, for now you'll be doing photo shoots and editing things for the creative team. Now, you'll be in Tampa while you're recovering, correct?" Vince asked.

"I'm actually thinking I'll stay in North Carolina. I know you wont be happy about that considering who would end up helping me for a while, just until I can get on my feet," Elizabeth told him.

"As long as you don't leak any storylines to them then we should be perfectly fine," he responded.

"Sir, can you do me a favor?"

"That all depends dear," he told her.

"Can you not tell anyone where I am? Specifically PJ and Heath? I'll be in touch with you regularly but I need some time to myself as well," she said.

"I promise to keep your whereabouts on the down low. We will discuss your return at a later time, when you are fully healed. I will call you in a few days and have things sent to you. We can keep contact by e-mail mainly and over the phone when needed. If you need anything else, feel free to call. Good luck with your recovery," he said before hanging up.

Everything was going the way she had hoped. Well, except for the fact that the three people she trusted the most had kept a secret from her for almost 3 years. She wasn't sure if she'd ever get over it, the last pieces she had of her dad we're ripped away from her without her even knowing it.

###

Heath and PJ hopped on a redeye from a house show in Texas on a Thursday night. They knew that Elizabeth was getting released the next day and they wanted to be there when she got out. Even though she was still angry with them, they wanted her to know that they were there for her, whenever she would need.

As soon as the got to the hospital, they walked up to her room but were shocked when the found it empty, the bed neatly made.

"Where is she?" Heath asked.

"She was discharged about an hour ago," a voice from behind them said. They turned around and saw Mackenzie, the nurse Elizabeth had for the week she was in the coma.

"What? Who picked her up?" PJ demanded.

"I'm not sure who they were, but they knew each other pretty well. She gave me these letters to send to you guys in Tampa but since you're here, I guess I can give them to you now," Mackenzie explained, handing them the letters.

Heath slowly unfolded the piece of paper in his hand and read it.

_Heath,_

_The only words that I can think of that could possibly make this hurt less are the words that made you so angry with me in the first place, so I wont say it. Just know that I love you, with everything I have in me. I never meant to hurt you, but I'd rather have it this way then turn you into a monster. I don't know when I'll be back in the ring, but I know I will. I don't expect you to wait for me. Honestly, I want you to move on and forget about me. Let me go because I don't think I'll be the same person when I return. You deserve to be happy and I cannot be the person to make you happy right now, I don't know if I'll ever be that person anymore. Don't worry too much about me, I'll be fine. I'm in good hands and I promise to take care of myself. I need to figure out who I am and what I want in life. I'm not going back to Stu so don't even think of looking there. Don't look for me, I'm serious. I know that you'll try to send out some sort of Amber Alert saying that I was kidnapped, but I haven't been. I left on my own and I'll come back on my own, eventually. I'll always love you, handsome. Remember that._

_You'll always have my heart. Pretty girl._

"No," he whispered, "She didn't just leave me with nothing but a note telling me she's leaving. This isn't happening. PJ please tell me this is a dream."

PJ shook his head at his friend before reading his own letter.

_Paul,_

_Don't look for me. I'm safe. I'll be back in time. I'm not in Tampa, but I have plenty of friends surrounding me to keep me safe. If at some point I need you, I promise to call you. Don't call me because I wont pick up. I'm actually considering changing my number, so don't change yours. I'm hurting right now Pauly, and I don't know when I'll get over it. In one second, you took the one thing that I've been hanging onto for the past 3 years away from me. You know what Dad's house meant to me, you knew how I felt about it and you still took it from me. I'll be gone for a while, at least a year because of my injuries. I don't know if I'll return right away or not, I have more than just physical injuries to heal from. This probably isn't the right time to ask you this, but take care of Heath. Don't let him wait for me, if someone else comes along who would be perfect for him, make him go for it. I can't make him happy anymore; it's not his fault either so don't blame him for me leaving. It's everything that's happened lately. In return, I promise to take care of myself the way you want me to. I'll see you eventually, that is something I'm sure of._

_I love you big brother. Bee._

"She's gone," PJ told Heath, "She's really gone."

"But, she'll be back right? I mean, she isn't going to just leave us with the notes and think that we'll accept it, right?" Heath asked, his voice threatening to stop working.

"I don't think she'll be back anytime soon. At least not until her shoulder is fully healed. I don't know how long after that, though. That girl will not stay away from the ring for very long. It's her only home now.

* * *

><p><strong>This is the last chapter for Trapped. I hope you've all enjoyed reading it. Thank you for all the reviews, it really means a lot to me! I will be starting the sequel soon, hopefully. If you'd like me to let you know when it's up message me or put it in a review for this story!<br>Also, please look at my other stories as well. R&R!  
><strong>


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